Why not just come up with seven new headline logotypes, Heraldo, and cycle through them at random? :0) Then we can be surprised every morning. But I think I’d save the grunge one for the next election cycle.

What about Smart Meters. Lots to talk about on this subject. PGE is bullying their way onto property with different excuses about their rights to force this on everyone.EMF health effects not known. Rio Dell had the balls to say no. Bills are increasing, people are getting sick and not sleeping.

The problem is you can’t work on this stuff without the site being live, so there are some things you don’t notice until you’re already committed. The new theme’s header was too big, and took up too much of the page. The quoted text was off-color, and the post titles wrapped too early leaving a blinding white spot at the top of the post. There are other details I didn’t like but I will spare you.

Here we are back on the old theme with a new header. The bullet points in the sidebar are bubbles rather than bullets and that has always been a sore point, but I can live with it more than the above issues.

suzy blah blah

February 18, 2011 at 4:47 pm

-make a 2nd blog of which nobody but you knows the url to do your experiments on.

Not fond of the drop shadow on the Old English. I might get seasick if I look at it too long. The “softer” version of that style looked great, I thought. And I liked the colors better.

The letters in “the” are spread a little too far apart. Not wild about the sans serif typeface.

You may regret responding to a type nut who did graphic design for fifteen+ years. OTOH, I haven’t tried to mess with the type on my own WP blog header.

suzy blah blah

February 18, 2011 at 6:34 pm

LOL! actually Suzy works for HashPress * * * -we say that the colors you have right now are bad bad bad, but we like the small h’s if you really are gonna insist on that sophomoric olde fashion’d journalism lettering style. But I donno, it’s really no use, just scrap it totally and begin anew, Suzy thinks this blog deserves much better.
Maybe you want a picture on there, like a landscape or something, not a “real” landscape, but a local political landscape, you know what i mean, something that says something.
Whatever, I know you can do it much more tastefully, what you have got now is way garish, sorry to be so frank, i love this blog all the same, i really do.

Walt

February 18, 2011 at 6:47 pm

From Wikipedia: “The first printed types exemplify what most people think of as medieval or “old English” lettering, with ornate capitals, roughly diamond-shaped serifs, and thick lines. As a group, these typefaces are called “blackletter.” They evolved from the Carolingian by a gradual movement towards narrowing and thickening of lines.

The general sort of blackletter used by Gutenberg in his first Bible is called textura (a shareware digital version of Gutenberg’s bible face is available, called “Good City Modern”). The other sorts of blackletter are fraktur, bastarda and rotunda. Probably the most common blackletter revival typefaces in use today are Cloister Black (M.F. Benton, 1904, from J.W. Phinney) and Fette Fraktur.

It is worth noting that although these typefaces seem very hard to read to us today, this is due as much to familiarity as to any objective lesser clarity. Fraktur was in use in Germany well into the 1900s, though it was gradually being superseded by Roman typefaces. The Nazis at first fostered a return to Fraktur, then outlawed it as a “Jewish typeface” in 1940.

Studies from mid-century found that people can read blackletter with a speed loss of no more than 15%. However, there is subjectively more effort involved. Blackletter is today most appropriate for display or headline purposes, when one wants to invoke the feeling of a particular era.”

Fraktur? Bastarda? Blackletter? The subtext is scary! Just what era are you trying to evoke?

Anyone up for a header contest? Winner gets their fine work at the top of this blog and the Herald’s eternal appreciation. Header size = 750 × 140 pixels. As with everything else, submissions can be anonymous.

oy. the last two headers were good. this one though, between the font and the colors…ouch!

Walt

February 19, 2011 at 6:09 am

I’d vote for Arial. Yeah, it’s boring, but it’s the easiest and fastest to read, and that’s what we’re trying to do, right? But in the end, it’s your party (so cry if you want to.)

Walt

February 19, 2011 at 6:11 am

Who needs seraphim anyway?

Anonymous

February 19, 2011 at 11:23 am

Say what you will about the new PG&E SmartMeters, I haven’t seen even one ant inside my house since my SmartMeter was installed!

Anonymous

February 23, 2011 at 12:58 am

Oooooo! I LIKE that new header! Way to Go, Heraldo!

Decline to State

February 23, 2011 at 10:01 am

I’m a very put off and left wondering what’s going in respect to the young CHP officer who died “in the line of duty” last week. In today’s Times Standard (02/23/2011) I find that in addition to flags being flown at 1/2 mast that hundreds upon hundreds of law enforcement officers and their vehicles from all across the north state, as well as the State Attorney General and our Governor attended his funeral. The priest presiding over the funeral deemed the officer a “hero.”

In an article in last Thursday’s TS it was reported that, “Adams’ northbound car drifted into the southbound lane of Highway 101” and that “a Toyota pickup struck Adams’ cruiser” (italics are mine). No official reports or investigation had been completed as of Thursday. A week later and still no official news.

While I am saddened at the loss of someone who had chosen to protect the public I am confused by this burying of the facts, the turning of victims into the offenders (they struck the officer who hit them head on in their lane), and the public making the actual offender, at great public expense, into a “hero.”

I repeat, what’s going on here?

Anonymous

February 23, 2011 at 10:14 am

Every person with a driver’s license has had cops *regularly* pass them at 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit. Add wet weather. It’s not difficult to imagine the outcome. Losing control of a vehicle is not heroism.

Anonymous

February 23, 2011 at 10:16 am

I was driving south on 101 yesterday just after the funeral ended. I was driving 65mph and over the course of about half an hour I was passed by 30 or 40 CHP cruisers headed south. Without exception, they passed me as if I was standing still. They must have been doing 85-90mph on average. I just hope they slowed down for the curves.

To be fair, I’m sure there were many other CHP officers driving south who were not speeding…I wouldn’t have seen them because they were somewhere behind me and not speeding, so they never caught up.

But for those officers who insisted on barreling down 101 at 85 or 90mph, they were putting themselves and other members of the public at risk of injury or death, for no justifiable reason. Not good.

Decline to State

February 23, 2011 at 10:21 am

…and in my rant I forgot to mention one other (what I consider) suspicious turn of events. The accident occurred at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday and the road was kept closed until sometime Wednesday morning. This extreme length of closure for what is sadly a common occurrence on 101 indicates to me that law enforcement knew there were going to be problems explaining the accident and made sure the scene was thoroughly investigated. Liability issues, the officer’s involvement and the apparent spinning of the accident all must have been carefully considered.

I ask the question, if the men in the Toyota had been killed in the accident instead of just banged up would Adams still be considered a hero?

Six Rivers Planned Parenthood is holding a rally Friday to protest the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote to eliminate funding for reproductive health services.
—————–
What: Six Rivers Planned Parenthood rally
Where: Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth St.
When: 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
============================
So the protest is either Friday or Tuesday.

Fox News chief, Roger Ailes, told Judith Regan to lie to and withhold information from federal investigators about Bernie Kerik, with whom she had an affair, to protect Rudy Giuliani and its all recorded. She was fired by Fox for allegedly making an anti-semitic remark and was smeared as promiscuous and crazy. Judith Regan sued Fox for wrongful termination and they paid her $10.75 million and retracted libelous accusations against her in a confidential agreement, but the order sealing the records was never sent to the court. Now her lawyers, who she fired the day before the settlement, are suing her for payment and all the dirt is coming out.

Anybody heard of any local Saturday rally in support of organized labor protests in Wisconsin middle class jobs? Something organized by local unions or local workers — not Copwatch or the other usual suspects?

Plain Jane

February 25, 2011 at 8:46 am

Nothing local, 06em. There is a protest in SF in front of city hall, one in Sacramento at the Capitol Building, one in Medford at Vogel Plaza, and one in Carson City, NV, on the legislative grounds.

06em

February 26, 2011 at 10:35 am

Tom Sebourn reporting that there will be a protest at noon today at the courthouse.

Mitch

March 6, 2011 at 9:27 am

Thank you Eric Kirk for posting this at your Sohum Parlance II. Michael Moore puts it all in understandable terms: “America is not broke, the only thing that is broke is the moral compass” of the rich thieves that have tried to rule the country.

The Westside Community Improvement Association Takes a Run for the Purchase of the Jefferson Site. Come show your support, Wednesday 5 pm 3200 Waldford Avenue

The Westside Community Improvement Association will present to the Eureka City School Board Wednesday Night before closed session at 5 pm and request the school board work with them to see the Community’s vision to restore common ground at the abandoned school site be realized.

The self determination of the community is inspiring and overwhelming. We have been struck down so many times and literally the community comes back with pledges of financial support, offers of professional support, offers of good, services, prayers and mostly their un-yeilding desire to restore the commons on the Westside.

Those that have followed the saga know that:

1) The First blow came when the school district permanently closed the campus.

2) Then, when the community college interrupted a purchase in progress between the school district and the Redevelopment Agency.

3) Again at the 11th hour when the financial partner Northcoast Children’s Services backed out with no warning

4) and Finally, when the newly seated city council reversed the decision of the previous unanimous vote to purchase the property with redevelopment funds.

It has been a study in adaptability and resilience but the one thing that has not changed; in fact it continues to grow is the broad base of community support for this project. It used to be a Westside thing, but now we get calls and pledges from Trinidad, Southern Humboldt, even one from Washington DC.

Some excerpts from some recent emails are:
(Sunday March 6th)

“The Westside Community Improvement Association has been working with a gentleman from Davis who has extensive experience building community owned cooperative projects. He is advising us and believes this is a splendid opportunity for the community to step up and secure this property for themselves. We are proposing a simple co-operative structure, “The Jefferson Community Co-Op”, this is the opportunity for the community to actually own this project and the mechanism to raise the funds to purchase the property”

(Tuesday March 8th)
“Friends Neighbors and Community Partners, We are calling for your support. We need to pack the School Board chambers tomorrow (Wednesday March 9th) evening. People do not need to speak, but they need to be there. If there is any way you can come, and bring other interested community members, to stand in solidarity in support of the Community Purchase of Jefferson School at 5pm at 3200 Walford Avenue (behind the Safeway up by Cutten) Eureka.

A few of us will present a clear message tomorrow night before closed session:
– That We Will be able to Purchase the Jefferson Property
– That we intend to develop a Community Garden, a Park and a Multi Use Community Center at that site and
– That the self determination of the community to take responsibility for this project and provide for its own needs is evident in the unyielding outpouring of support.

What we need is back up in the audience. We need to show the community support that has been so inspiring and unyielding, please bring community members that you know are in support of the project, I know it is short notice, And let them know they don’t need to speak, just stand behind as members of the community” There will be 2 items, closed session comments at 5, and then a vote to adopt Resolution #10-11-032, Intention to Sell Real Property and Publication of Notice Thereof – Jefferson School Site” on the 7 pm open session Agenda.” Come for whatever part you can, but come show your support.

From the rumblings of the emails, it seems the Westside Community Improvement Association and the restless citizens of Eureka, are as determined as ever to see this project succeed. Come show your support.Wednesday Night 5 pm (and or 7 pm) 3200 Waldford Avenue.

Thank you to the community for your ongoing support of this grassroots effort.
Heidi Benzonelli WCIA

Local Big Shot

March 9, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Sorry we need those redevelopment funds to do some blockbusting in your neighborhood. Buy low, sell high, good bye, westside.

You will be gentrified.

Anonymous

March 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm

I notice Virginia Bass still can’t help being an adolescent responder. Now on the Board of Supervisors she still is compelled to admonish those who oppose her. She has nothing worthwhile to say, only petty and worn out cliches. She just can’t shut up.

Walt

March 10, 2011 at 5:50 am

Can anyone tell me what “Just sayin’” means? Is it a modern version of “Dixi.”?

Plain Jane

March 10, 2011 at 7:44 am

In my mind, it means I don’t want to argue, I’m just stating my opinion.

Rumorhasit

March 10, 2011 at 3:37 pm

Heard a rumor that Horizon is pulling out of Redding and Arcata effective 4/16????

Plain Jane

March 10, 2011 at 11:18 pm

8.9 earthquake earthquake followed by 13 foot tsunami in Japan. No warnings for the US.

News flash: SF Chronicle science writer says that a subduction zone earthquake like in Japan is unlikely in California, thereby either denying the existence of the Cascadia subduction zone or denying that the coast north of Cape Mendocino is in fact IN CALIFORNIA:

Earthquakes and tsunamis are bad things, but I’m getting a little nervous about those nuke plants in Japan. I’m reminded of a friend who was in eastern Europe during the unpleasantness at Chernobyl. She said she knew something was wrong when the local weather forecasts were in milirads rather than degrees centigrade. . .

Down the Road

March 13, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Right on 4:51 PM. Virginia Bass is a echo for the
“Good Old Boys”. She was a irritant on city council
and now has graduated to being a bigger irritant.
Would some kind of cheap cologne or bug spray rid us
of this irritant?

Plain Jane

March 13, 2011 at 2:14 pm

Assault on Collective Bargaining Illegal, Says International Labor Rights Group

Isn’t it comforting to know, that had the earthquake been just one richter point stronger, we’d all be as good as dead? GO INDUSTRY! GO TECHNOLOGY! GO PROGRESS!

Think I’m gonna smoke a phat bowl of medicine…er…MARIJUANA and enjoy the fact taht I’m not vomiting blood in anticipation of death right now.

Rex

March 13, 2011 at 7:33 pm

2:09 PM- Now we have the new Mayor Jager to pick up the slack now that Virginia is gone. Boy he sure got nasty towards Atkins. Now HE will whine at those speakers that differ with his ideas. Someone should clue him that he is there to run the meeting and sometimes be a tie breaker, not to edit and chastise those with differing opinions. AND will someone teach him work the microphones.

taxed

March 13, 2011 at 7:35 pm

So much for Japanese technology.

walt

March 15, 2011 at 5:38 pm

This from Amy:In news from Wisconsin, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is claiming that the 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state to block a union-busting bill are still in contempt of the Senate even though they have returned. In a letter released Monday, Fitzgerald said the Democrats cannot vote in committee. He wrote, “They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.”

Can this really be true, and the mainstream media aren’t reporting it? Has the “permanent Republican majority” arrived, and no other parties need even show up?

Too bad, in a way, because such a raw and blatantly undemocratic power grab would probably have guaranteed a landlside recall of all those Republican state senators. But enough of them are probably going to go down in flames anyway.

tra

March 15, 2011 at 11:02 pm

Any report on tonight’s Eureka City Council meeting / hearing on the medical cannabis dispensary ordinance?

Also, remember to close your tags, forward slash before the letter, no space. Otherwise if you bold or italicize something but don’t close it, every comment that follows will be formatted that way, causing your blog host to have to chase down the errant tag and close it.

TLPA, you start making stuff up in the first sentence on your blog. Why are these trees “rare”? They’re only 100 years old, assuming you’re being truthful about their age. Then you make more stuff up in the second sentence with, “decimate the forest and bury the main trail.” Uh huh.

Could Arcata lead a rebellion against the hegemons of Ferndale? I hope so.

Mitch

March 24, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Here’s a shout-out in praise of Barry Evans’ piece in the North Coast Journal this week. For once, it’s not equal time for liars.

Goldie

March 26, 2011 at 9:54 am

A useful new word
“That’s why our favorite new word is “agnotology.” According to the web site WordSpy, it means “the study of culturally-induced ignorance or doubt,” a concept developed in recent years by two historians of science at Stanford University, Robert Proctor and his wife, Londa Schiebinger.
Believing that global climate change is a myth is one example of the kind of ignorance agnotologists investigate. Or the insistence by the tobacco industry that the harm caused by smoking is still in dispute. Or the conviction that Barack Obama is a closet Muslim, and a radical one at that, who may not even be from America.http://www.truth-out.org/just-a-couple-more-things-about-npr68760

Plain Jane

March 26, 2011 at 10:18 am

Can we just shorten that to “Ignoes,” Goldie?

Cali Brown trout

March 27, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Today, the sponges are winning and thriving while the rest of the shrinking middle class of Californians are suffering under some of the worst conditions in the history of the state:

* * Our roads are in deplorable shape. The huge potholes, cracks and uneven pavement cost the average driver an additional $400 a year beyond the normal cost of owning a car;
* * Our public schools look like prisons, and too many California students are uneducated and undereducated;
* * Our prisons look like state office buildings and receive the homage churches used to get;
* * In every city, bicycle lanes are multiplying as automobile traffic lanes disappear, leaving drivers moving at a crawl or idling more frequently in traffic, while the occasional bicyclist weaves in and out of traffic;
* * Public transit is bankrupt and losing riders, but more public money than ever is being spent on it;
* * City downtowns penalize visitors with costly and increasingly punitive parking, crash taxes, unchecked crime and increasing homeless populations;
* * Businesses are closing or leaving the state as regulatory agencies create new regulations, fines and penalties;
* * Entitlements and welfare are increasing — and so are our taxes;
* * College students demand more and more entitlements, wanting to pay less and less for them;
* * State agencies have become fiefdoms, run for the sake of union jobs, and not about the service that the agency was created for. With prison guards, Caltrans employees and firefighters receiving six-figure salaries and commensurate benefits, the tail is wagging the dog;
* * Middle-class, private sector businesses are targeted for additional taxing, penalties, and environmental regulations by resentful liberals and the sponges they have spawned.

Taxes never decrease in California, and agencies are never dissolved — well, almost never.

Plain Jane

March 28, 2011 at 7:15 am

The Future of Manufacturing is Local

“More easily understood as something akin to terroir, geographic ingredient branding emphasizes “pride of place,” which runs deep in cities like San Francisco and New York. “I saw this as a way to ‘brand’ the history, culture, personality and natural beauty of our city as a means to uniquely differentiate our local manufacturers,” says Dwight. “I coined the term ‘geographic ingredient branding’ as an emulation of successful technology ingredient branding campaigns such as ‘Intel Inside.’”

I must have brain fade this morning, Mitch. Don’t have a clue what that is in reference to.

Mitch

March 28, 2011 at 8:46 am

The study of the denial of scientific evidence and procedure — that is, the ology of ignoes.

Plain Jane

March 28, 2011 at 8:56 am

Oh, I was still stuck thinking about local manufacturing. :D

Arnie is a good name for them, but not quite as descriptive.

walt

March 28, 2011 at 9:18 am

On a positive note, just for the hell of it, did you know if you’re swimming off Kihei in Maui, and you hold your breath and dive down about 2 or 3 feet, you hear humpback whales chattering up to two or three miles away? Yeah, human affairs suck, but somehow it’s reassuring to hear and see whales at play.

Mitch

March 29, 2011 at 8:47 am

Doesn’t Japan have Living National Treasures, or something like that? Jon Steward is our Living National Treasure. Here he tackles our concerns about how our high corporate tax rates are costing us jobs.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the news item below. Normally, I’d expect this is taken way out of context or is a dirty trick. But in today’s politics, it may very well be accurate. Sad and scary

“By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press Holly Ramer, Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. – In his latest trip to New Hampshire, Republican Rick Santorum says the Social Security system would be in much better shape if there were fewer abortions.

The former Pennsylvania senator and potential presidential candidate was asked about Social Security during an interview on WESZ-AM radio in Laconia on Tuesday morning.

He says the system has design flaws, but the reason it is in big trouble is that there aren’t enough workers to support retirees. He blamed that on what he called the nation’s abortion culture. He says that culture, coupled with policies that do not support families, deny America what it needs — more people.

Santorum has been a frequent visitor to New Hampshire, which holds the earliest presidential primary.”

Plain Jane

March 29, 2011 at 11:04 am

When you’re Rick Santorum, every problem is either caused by abortion or taxes and the only solution banning them both.

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

March 29, 2011 at 5:59 pm

GE gets tax breaks or pays no taxes and in return, it is allowed to acquire assets to gain market shares for future energy demands. SO, effectually, government fascisms is giving GE subsidies to enlarge their company while banking profits and market shares tax free. I don’t want to hear any more corporate executive whining or corporate employee whinings. People who work for GE are getting jobs paid for by other American taxpayers. Employees who work for GE are minions and stool pigeons to the fascist sham between government and the private sector.

Disgusting that so many people are naive.

Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District

Cali Brown trout

March 29, 2011 at 6:23 pm

Recall Jerry Brown

tra

March 29, 2011 at 6:51 pm

Here’s the latest on the Fukushima nuclear disaster:

The radioactive core in a reactor at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on to a concrete floor, experts say, raising fears of a major release of radiation at the site.

29 March: TEPCO continued to spray water into reactors 1-3 and discovered that radioactive runoff water was beginning to fill utility trenches outside the three reactor buildings. The highly radioactive water in and around the reactor buildings continued to limit progress by technicians in restoring the cooling and other automated systems to the reactors.

30 March: TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata announced at a news conference that it was presently unclear how the problems at the plant would be resolved. An immediate difficulty was the removal of large quantities of radioactive water in basement buildings, but also salt built up inside the reactors from using sea water for cooling needed to be removed. Building new concrete walls around the reactors was being considered as had been done at Chernobyl.

From what I can gather, the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant is most certainly NOT under control:

*Radioactive water continues to impede workers’ effort to try to get the situation under control.

* Some experts believe that one of the reactor vessels may already have breached (dumping melted down radioactive fuel into the earthquake-damaged “containment,”).

* There are indications that some uncontrolled chain reactions have occured even after the reactors were shut down.

* Radioactivity levels in the nearby seawater continue to rise rapidly, hitting a new high today.

* High levels of radioactivity are being found well outside the evacuation zone.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government is openly talking about the “Chernobyl solution” of building a huge “sarcophagus” around the plant.

Japan is considering pouring concrete into its crippled Fukushima atomic plant as the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog agency warned that a potential uncontrolled chain reaction could cause further radiation leaks…melted fuel in the No. 1 reactor building may be causing isolated, uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions, Denis Flory, nuclear safety director for the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, said at a press conference in Vienna….

Japan is considering pouring concrete into its crippled Fukushima atomic plant as the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog agency warned that a potential uncontrolled chain reaction could cause further radiation leaks…

Actually, nobody with a clue thinks even that can happen until the situation has been far more contained than it is now. All entombment would do is make it impossible to get in to fix things if they get worse, and nobody is very sure they won’t get worse.

But don’t worry, American regulators have thought all this through. Even though they require 10 mile evacuation plans for American plants, they understand the risks are higher in Japan, and therefore require 50 mile evacuation zones for Americans around Japanese plants.

Your government cares.

Anonymous

April 1, 2011 at 3:09 pm

Good Banking link Mitch – the minions get paid well at the expense of those paid less well.

Below is a headline showing money that represents “over-charges on sales transaction prices” AND “underpayment to employees of wages” AND “bilking of small retail investors”.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally gets $26.5M pay package

Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District

"HENCHMAN OF jUSTICE"

April 1, 2011 at 3:10 pm

Huh?

JL

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

April 1, 2011 at 3:11 pm

MY bad.

JL

tra

April 2, 2011 at 9:58 am

An excellent summary of the current situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant can be found at the Union Of Concerned Scientists’ “All Things Nuclear” blog, under the title “3-Week Update on Japan’s Nuclear Crisis,” dated April 2, 2011:

I’ve been thinking about PG&E’s “smart meters”: clearly the motive is to get rid of meter readers. Anyone know how many there are in Hum Co who would be out of a job?

Plain Jane

April 4, 2011 at 5:45 pm

Well paid jobs with great benefits, Walt.

tra

April 4, 2011 at 9:39 pm

Like me, you may have thought that the U.S. nulear industry had reached the absolute limit of jackassery when one of their leading spokesmen responded to the Fukushima disaster by calling nuclear power a “clean, safe, emission-free” energy source.

But you’ll have to admit that the Indian nuclear industry has at least matched — and perhaps even surpassed — the U.S. industry’s jackassery with this amazing statement from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India:

“There is no nuclear accident or incident in Japan’s Fukushima plants. It is a well planned emergency preparedness programme.” S.K. Jain, Chairman, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL)

I hereby nominate for the “2011 Award for Refreshing Understatement in Journalism Award” reporter Allison White, who wrote in a ftont-page article in today’s Times-Standard: “Since Jefferson School closed in 2006 due to dis­trictwide decreasing enroll­ment and the estimated costs to renovate the facility, it has been the center of some debate.”

Plain Jane

April 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm

Did you notice the bit about CR not bidding? It will be interesting to see who did and look for financial connections / campaign donations to members of the city council.

Anonymous

April 6, 2011 at 11:18 pm

Heraldo, you may want to do an article on this.

I wonder how many other Northern Californians got a notice in their mail today (April 6) notifying them of an important public meeting to be held in San Bruno concerning the fatal natural gas explosion and fire.

Pardon me. Did I make myself clear? PG&E notified me TODAY about an important meeting that happened YESTERDAY.

It is any wonder PG&E is losing credibility with Californians over its sincerity regarding our safety?

beel

April 7, 2011 at 8:04 am

7 April 2011 Last updated at 10:57 ET
A tsunami warning has been issued for north-eastern Japan after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck off the east coast of Honshu.

Plain Jane

April 7, 2011 at 8:07 am

A STRONG EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED BUT A TSUNAMI IS NOT
EXPECTED ALONG THE CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/
BRITISH COLUMBIA OR ALASKA COASTS

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

April 7, 2011 at 9:33 am

Here is a slap in the face for workers’ rights,

“Bristol Palin’s $262,500: Is she overpaid? (The Week)”

Now, how can such a young and well politically connected gal from Alaska get paid so much at a ripe young age? Answer – ask Chelsea Clinton!

Not to keep beating a dead leg humper, but I’m reading the book Tra posted a link for last night, The Authoritarians, and it struck me that LH is a perfect example of an authoritarian. He probably believes he is a very nice conservative, goes to church, supports free speech, etc; and yet he is willing to lie and threaten to silence opposing views for the economic benefit of a few.

Walt

April 11, 2011 at 5:52 am

Check out Highboltage’s link. I’d never heard of Paul B Farrell, but he’s no fool, and there’s a lot of truth in what he says. He uses, but doesn’t define, the word “revolution.” Clearly the Rulers are pushing us toward that, but I’m afraid when it happens it won’t be pretty and it won’t be reasonable. The rich are destroying themselves, but what comes next? Military dictatorship?

“Paul Farrell writes the column on behavioral economics. He’s the author of nine books on personal finance, economics and psychology, including “The Millionaire Code,” “The Winning Portfolio,” “The Lazy Person’s Guide to Investing.” Farrell was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley; executive vice president of the Financial News Network; executive vice president of Mercury Entertainment Corp; and associate editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He has a Juris Doctor and a Doctorate in Psychology.”

Looks like the cargo ship Danny Boy is loading up with chips or another type of ground up wood near the Schnieder dock. I wonder where this shipload is going and why there’s no word of this in the media, independent or otherwise.

There is a photo shoot currently taking place for the newly unveiled Fiat 500 at the Samoa Boat Ramp County Park.

Mitch

April 13, 2011 at 7:46 am

Anti-marriage-equality activist has change of heart, leaves right wing organization:

“I’ve received hundreds of messages since my announcement of support and kind words and it’s very amazing for me because I’ve been nothing but harsh and offensive to these people and they’ve shown me nothing but kindness in return,” Marinelli said.”

Goldman Sachs Chief Blankfein Could Face Criminal Prosecution For Role In Financial Crisis

“WASHINGTON — Goldman Sachs executives deceived clients in order to profit off the brewing financial crisis and then misled Congress when asked to explain their actions, concluded a top lawmaker who led a two-year investigation into Wall Street’s role in the meltdown.”

“More than any other government report produced in the wake of the crisis, this account names names, blaming specific people and institutions: Goldman Sachs, Washington Mutual, Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, the Office of Thrift Supervision and others. It targets four types of institutions, all of which it says played key roles in causing the crisis: mortgage lenders that offered prospective homeowners booby-trapped loans; regulators that were paid by the institutions they were regulating and cooperated in widespread deception; rating agencies that gave seals of approval to products they knew to be especially risky, all in the pursuit of market share; and Wall Street banks that duped investors into buying securities that only the insiders knew were destined to go bad.”

It ain’t over til it’s over, Mitch. I’d bet billions he won’t get any worse than Michael Milken or Martha Stewart. To paraphrase Leona Helmsley, only the little people do serious time.

Walt

April 21, 2011 at 6:26 am

Meanwhile, in the hills, the goldfinches and calypso orchids are back, the kellogg lilies and clintonia are threatening, the slugs and trilliums (trillia?) have never been so abundant and the sun is showing signs of returning. Go out and play!

Big Al

April 21, 2011 at 10:26 am

Gas for $3.77 @ Safeway in Willets

Plain Jane

April 24, 2011 at 6:24 am

For those who doubt that low taxation (an low interest rates) inflate bubbles and shift wealth from the working classes to the rich:

David Stockman (former Republican congressman and former Director of the OMB in this morning NYT:

“This lamentable prospect is deeply grounded in the policy-driven transformation of the economy during recent decades that has shifted income and wealth to the top of the economic ladder. While not the stated objective of policy, this reverse Robin Hood outcome cannot be gainsaid: the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent of households has risen to 35 percent from 21 percent since 1979, while their share of income has more than doubled to around 20 percent.

The culprit here was the combination of ultralow rates of interest at the Federal Reserve and ultralow rates of taxation on capital gains. The former destroyed the nation’s capital markets, fueling huge growth in household and business debt, serial asset bubbles and endless leveraged speculation in equities, commodities, currencies and other assets.

At the same time, the nearly untaxed windfall gains accrued to pure financial speculators, not the backyard inventors envisioned by the Republican-inspired capital-gains tax revolution of 1978. And they happened in an environment of essentially zero inflation, the opposite of the double-digit inflation that justified a lower tax rate on capital gains back then — but which is now simply an obsolete tax subsidy to the rich.”

One of the things I take issue with in this editorial is Mr. Stockman’s disingenuous remark that President Obama invited the GOP to a class war and they RSVPed. It takes at least 2 sides fighting to make a war. The working classes have just bowed before the assaults on their wages and benefits for decades, meekly accepting the sparse crumbs trickling down from the bosses’ tables. Now that we are starting to fight back, it’s war.

Walt

April 24, 2011 at 7:35 am

PJ, if Obush is making war on the Rebubblicans, he’s using a squirt gun filled with perfume. We’re just the creatures outside.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

Sorry Mitch, giving him credit for congressional pluses is unfair to the handful of Barney Franks and Dennis Kucinichs still working there. But I can’t help wondering what Bradley Manning or the innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Libya killed by drones would say about his performance. Single payer is STILL not even on the table, and there are still people imprisoned for life without charge or trial in Guantanamo, and all the guys from AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and the rest are fatter and happier.

He’s not the monster Dick Cheney is, but Dick’s not behind bars, either.

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

April 25, 2011 at 8:02 am

David Stockman has a great piece on “crony capitalism”. I only disagree that there is no such thing as crony in capitalism. Capitalism is either 100% free market or not. This means that if there exists any deviation from 100% PURE FREE MARKET CAPITALISM, then “capitalism” is no longer the correct verbage to use in any economic definition or explanation. Simply, CALL IT FASCISM!!!!

P.S. Remember back when the Henchman said all this stuff and most everyone else either scoffed, mocked, cut-down, laughed, frowned, got upset, mad, etc…. and then most ya’all still did what our ancestors/voters have continued for the past many decades (duopoly support). Talk about perpetuations unfolding before your very lives.

There are those who lament that doing away with bankers, insurance agents and lawyers will do more for America than any “elected” politician could.

JL

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

April 26, 2011 at 7:11 am

one letter off in e-mail address, oops!

JL

Anonymous

April 26, 2011 at 11:26 am

Robert Reich connects the economic dots

Eureka resident

April 26, 2011 at 12:20 pm

Times Standard article today about Neilson-I do not belong to Face Book so I will say it on Quick Notes-THANK YOU GARR NIELSEN!!!!! Our neighborhoods are dramatically changed for the better thanks to you. EPD is now doing an excellent job and we hope that you will stay on to continue the good work.

Humboldt County prosecutors filed a nine-count criminal complaint against 36-year-old Daniel Kalis of Eureka on Thursday.

Kalis is accused of possessing heroin. He is also facing charges of petty theft, vandalism and false imprisonment. In a news release, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office did not describe the circumstances that lead to the charges, but said they came after an investigation that began in January.

The Eureka Times-Standards reports that Kalis’ ex-wife received a temporary restraining order against Kalis this month. She apparently reported feeling scared of threatened by him on several occasions, including while he was on duty.

Authorities say as of April 1, he is no longer employed with the department. No phone listing could be found for Kalis in Eureka.

His arraignment is scheduled for May 16.

Anonymous

April 26, 2011 at 6:13 pm

Watching the news tonight, I am wondering why people with more traditional credibility (not those with one word names like “Verbena”) are front and center in the protests. It would give it more clout, instead of appearing to be people who have time to complain about everything because they dropped out of society. Not criticizing the protesters themselves, just telling those who want to make a difference that their leaders and especially those who speak in front of the news camera have to be credible to the general population. These are people who can’t rent an apartment because they don’t have a last name or give out social security numbers for credit.

Plain Jane

April 27, 2011 at 6:46 am

Obama released a certified copy of his “long form birth certificate.” Does anyone believe this will end the birther insanity?

While I wish they hadn’t personally escorted the document (could they not have mailed it?) as this was one expensive trip for a piece of paper, I hope it does put this question to rest. The whole thing is a waste of time and a distraction. I hope that is the end of it.

As long as Donald Trump has anything else to say about anything, we will only hear self promoting crap and attention seeking “provocative” bullshit.

Anonymous

April 27, 2011 at 5:58 pm

If a person can get a falsified drivers license how hard would it be to get a fake birth certificate? Do you think the president might have enough juice to have a paper made to order? Puppet masters have long strings. Just a thought.

Anonymous

April 27, 2011 at 7:54 pm

And there you have it… of course it’s “just a thought” that it’s fake. This is a circular game that cannot end. No document can prove anything because they can all be faked. No way is Obama the president. NO WAY!!!1

tra

April 28, 2011 at 11:55 am

Meanwhile, in Arcata…

Councilmember Shane Brinton is advocating for the City of Arcata to make it easier for property owners in Arcata to get a second residence (monther-in-law unit) approved on their parcel. Currently the property owner can only have a second unit on the parcel if they live there, or by getting a special permit.

Brinton points out that the current regulations work counter to the the City Council’s stated goal of promoting infill development and providing affordable housing.

I know you like simple tax schemes. Here is one I like, Henry George, an American economist circa 1880s still the best selling economist of all time. So read it and let me know what you think of a single land tax.

have a peaceful day,
Bill

Henry George & the Single Tax

from wikipedia:

Georgism, or Geoism, named after Henry George (1839-1897), is a philosophy and economic ideology that holds that everyone owns what they create, but that everything found in nature, most importantly land, belongs equally to all of humanity. The Georgist philosophy is usually associated with the idea of a single tax on the value of land. Georgists argue that a tax on land value is efficient, fair and equitable, and will generate sufficient revenue so that other taxes, which are less fair and efficient, can be reduced or eliminated.[1]

Henry George is known best for his argument that the economic rent of land should be shared equally by the people of a society rather than being owned privately. The best statement of this opinion is found in his publication Progress and Poverty: “We must make land common property.”[2] Although this could be done by nationalizing land and then leasing it to private parties, George preferred taxing unimproved land value, in part because this would be less disruptive and controversial in a country where land titles have already been granted to individuals.

With the revenue from this “single tax”, three possibilities arise: either the revenue can be used to fund the state or it can be redistributed to citizens as a pension or basic income, or it can be divided between the first two options. If the first option were to be chosen, the state could avoid having to tax any other type of income, wealth or transactions. Introducing a large land value tax causes the price of land titles to decrease correspondingly, but George did not believe landowners should be compensated, and described the issue as being analogous to compensation of former slave owners.

A sales “impact” tax based on consumptions is not a scheme. Gas “sales” tax for environmental impacts = not a scheme. Nor for many things. AN exemption for basic needs only is fair and appropriate. Basic food is a need, fast food is not a need, dining out is not a need, but farmers marker, grocery store food is a need. Alcohol and all other drugs is not a need, unless for medical purposes…..unnecessary plastic/cosmetic surgeries must be taxed…..so, when you say “scheme”, that carries much weight that needs to be analysed for its unecessary baggage being registered for the ….(analogy)….helicopter trip when pundits try to bamboozle others through explanatory manipulations.

Just sayin’, no need to infer “schemes” in a manner of enacting individual “character” assaults over issues or theories or whatever that is a now-win discussion for all those who manipulate the truth about being a human being.

Taxes for societal and individual imapcts are appropriate if proven and justified, ….. just sayin it is about consumption, even consumption in order to produce is “impact sales” taxable consumption.

Jeffrey I didn’t intend to sour the debate by calling it a scheme. Let’s call it a tax plan.

With that in mind what is it about the Single Tax (a land value tax) that you disagree with?

Also I need to point out that “fast food” might not be a “need” to you (or I for that matter) there exist right now in the United States places called “food deserts” mostly in poor urban areas where there are no supermarkets for miles. The only place to buy food is in fast food outlets or gas station convenience stores.

Let us recognize that consumption taxes, what ever their benefits may be, are just as much “job killers” as any other form of tax.

It is obvious, after all that is the intent of consumption taxes, to reduce consumption of a particular product.

When consumption is reduced, prices (to producer) are lowered, profit margins are lowered, marginal producers are forced from the marketplace. Overall investment in that sector of the economy goes down, and unemployment will rise in that sector. That is why consumption taxes are job killers.

That is why the tobacco industry consistently fights tobacco taxes. Or why the beverage industry is fighting tooth and nail to stop taxes on corn sweeteners and sodas.

Taxes are taxes.

Consumption taxes can serve social policy, for instance in discouraging unhealthy behavior (alcohol taxes and cigarette taxes) or in preserving vital nonrenewable resources but there will always be a downward drag on the economy no matter what kind of tax there is.

have a peaceful day,
Bill

Walt

May 2, 2011 at 2:56 pm

From Wikipedia: “The town of Abbottabad in British India was the headquarters of the then Hazara district, and was named after Major James Abbott who founded the town and district in January 1853 after the annexation of the Punjab. He remained the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district between 1849 until April 1853. Major Abbott is noted for having written a poem titled “Abbottabad”, before he went back to Britain, in which he wrote of his fondness for the town and his sadness at having to leave it.” Swell painting of him, dressed as an Indian nobleman, in the National Gallery, too.

I watched a Nova yesterday about human care / companionship robots yesterday, Mitch. One of the scientists has created a robot who looks and is named after his favorite sci fi author (not a fan, didn’t recognize him) who looks almost human, changes facial expressions, looks people in the eye when it “talks.” Incredible!

Plain Jane

May 4, 2011 at 2:15 pm

This scientist invented an amazing synthetic skin.

Plain Jane

May 4, 2011 at 2:26 pm

Fascinating about robot altruism, Mitch. I think the development of altruism is an obvious genetic survival benefit, particularly between those closely related; but also to less closely related for greater safety in numbers. It’s so logical that it would surprise me if computers couldn’t develop altruism.

Anonymous

May 6, 2011 at 12:19 am

We always act as if we as individuals are the standard against which all others in the world should be judged. In doing that, we miss many opportunities to know ourselves better and to build stronger bonds of understanding with other people.

Plain Jane

May 9, 2011 at 5:40 am

The Unwisdom of Elites
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?

Well, what I’ve been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite — self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing — is the claim that it’s mostly the public’s fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.

So this seems like a good time to point out that this blame-the-public view isn’t just self-serving, it’s dead wrong.

If you don’t have access to the article, leave a note and I’ll post the rest of it. Everyone should read and understand this. Yes, I know many of you already do and some never will, but I’ll keep trying……

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

May 9, 2011 at 7:10 am

PJ,

It is true that poor economics is upon the voters and consumers because as such, there exists no “self-control” with spending habits for the materialistic and the self-unmotivated. Aside from legitimate health concerns, it is hard to argue the lazinesses and the apathy and the naivity and the dumbing down, the greed to compare lifestyles of the rich and famous, the poorer who want to look good as if they want to be famous, the parents who buy meaningless stuff for their families, the same over-spenders that own businesses that have no clue how to run a tight ship fiscally responsible with few wastes, etc…

Yep, hard to beat the voting track records and the consumer spending habits. Stupid is as stupid does with money and debt.

As far as public view, how about “public employee” view as an accomplice?

JL

Mitch

May 9, 2011 at 8:22 am

The only truth in the media these days comes from comedians. Bill Maher summarizes the GOP:

Fortunately (for them)their base can’t recognize incompetence no matter how blatant it is and can’t remember who was responsible once they finally do realize the train has gone off the rails.

Mitch

May 9, 2011 at 8:59 am

It’s a great five minute summary of how the Republicans have failed the country, from defense to the budget.

Personally, my favorite part came when Maher reminded us that McCain said he would NOT go into Pakistan to get bin Laden, because it’s a sovereign country. Obama said he would. McCain told Obama he was naive.

But the reminder about the Clinton surplus was nice, as were the quotes from W about how he didn’t care about bin Laden, then he wanted him dead or alive, then he didn’t care about him any more, all within the space of a year.

In a sane nation, a single taste of W would have been the end of the GOP as a credible party. In ours, he got reelected.

Plain Jane

May 9, 2011 at 9:12 am

Your link had other Maher links and I watched Maher in the No Spin Zone, another very good one which would probably be even better if it was from a non-partisan news source and we could see the unedited version.

Plain Jane

May 9, 2011 at 6:39 pm

Orrin Hatch, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said this on MSNBC:

“”Bastiat, the great economist of the past, said the place where you’ve got to get revenues has to come from the middle class. That’s the huge number of people that are there. So the system does need to be revamped… We have an unbalanced tax code that we’ve got to change.”

Apparently they’ve decided that because the very poor and the retired pay no federal taxes, the middle class, who has been losing economic ground for decades, should be taxed at a higher rate rather than increase taxes on the very rich who have the lowest tax rates in modern history.

Plain Jane

May 9, 2011 at 6:40 pm

continued

Travis Waldron of the progressive ThinkProgress website explained:

“The majority of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes don’t make enough money to qualify for even the lowest tax bracket, a problem made worse by the economic recession. That includes retired Americans, who don’t pay income taxes because they earn very little income, if they earn any at all.

Hmmm. At the present time (Tuesday May 10 2248 PDT) the Mississippi at Baton Roughe is 7.5 ft above flood stage and is forecast to reach 10 ft above flood stage.

I wonder how high Mistuh Arkley’s propitty sits above flood stage.

Mayor Snorkum

May 10, 2011 at 10:51 pm

Can’t type. Baton Rouge.

Rum

May 10, 2011 at 10:57 pm

Hey PJ @ May 9 6:40. Remember what silent Cal Coolidge said in the early 1920’s:

“The business of the United States is business.”

He meant the US government and the Repubs believe it in spades. So tax the heck out of the middle class and the lower class too, cause they aren’t “business”. They’re just workers and consumers.

But what happens to business if the consumers can’t consume enough cause they don’t have the money to spend?

Plain Jane

May 11, 2011 at 6:21 am

When you can stockpile mountains of cash by cutting your work force and the wages / benefits of those who remain, invest it in hedge funds and inflate bubbles for short term paper gain while paying lower taxes than a ditch digger, who wouldn’t if they could? That they CAN is the problem.

You probably already know, but Del Norte Supervisor Matha McClure has been appointment to the Coastal Commission by Gov. Brown.

lessLove

May 13, 2011 at 11:31 am

Lovelace denied x 2. Nice try though. Not only did he not get the appointment, he lobbied very hard for the appointment, traveled to Sacramento numerous times, used every connection he had, circulated petitions, ignored his real duties for months, etc. etc. Still, no love.

Mark needs to learn how to play well with others. Those nasty e-mails between he and Arkley shows he isn’t ready for prime time.

Forty years ago, wealthy Americans financed the U.S. government mainly through their tax payments. Today wealthy Americans finance the government mainly by lending it money. While foreigners own most of our national debt, over 40 percent is owned by Americans – mostly the very wealthy.

This great switch by the super rich – from paying the government taxes to lending the government money — has gone almost unnoticed. But it’s critical for understanding the budget predicament we’re now in. And for getting out of it.

Did anyone else watch the Eureka City Council meeting? Again, our trusted leaders, disregarded the pleas of the constituents, to support a local business,keep jobs in our community, add value to a local resource and support a sustainable independent local economy. Bravo!!! Kiss the Samoa Materials Recovery Facility, at least 35 local jobs, jobs for recycling haulers, glass for Fire and Light, paper for Sun Valley and the valuE of our aluminum, bi metal and plastic containers Buh Bye!!! Willits Solid waste will gladly take those pesky problems off your hands!!!

FROM THE ELECTION NIGHT POST THAT READ…FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE….ARE YOU FIGURING IT OUT YET!!!

anonymous

May 18, 2011 at 7:55 pm

I was there and it was truly disgusting. Did you notice in this morning’s paper the council “approved a grant application for a feasibility study to be conducted of an acquisition and rehabilitation program of vacant foreclosed single-family homes.” They consciously added a few more homes to that problem last night just so each household can save $10/YEAR (at the most)on their recycling bill. This is so tragic.

Anonymous

May 18, 2011 at 8:17 pm

First home buyer doesn’t sound like such a good deal hearing more about it last night. The buyer only makes 20% after several years and the house is doomed forever to be just a low income starter home. Then HUD gets it back again. What is the advantage of this if you work hard to make improvements-you wouldn’t recoup your time and money. Takes the incentive away to make house your “Dream Home”. Bad deal if all the houses are fixed up and you can not afford to fix yours.

with links to the Times-Standard’s coverage, the McKinleyville Press and the Redding Record-Searchlight — several of these have pictures of the missing girl, whose name is Sophie.

Apparently it’s not yet known if Sophie is alone and lost, or possibly abducted or what. It sounds like no one is sure whether she was even with her mother out in Trinity…she might still be in Humboldt somewhere.

But whatever the case may be, we should all be on the lookout for her. She’s only two and a half years old and she may be in very grave danger.

Anonymous

May 20, 2011 at 9:38 pm

Why spend $35,000 on a feasibility study when they seem to already have a plan in place? Redevelopment (city council) can really throw the money around when they feel like it. Will the first time home program just be in the historic neighborhoods? That is where the redevelopment zone is. Why can’t a first time home be in another part of town. Lots of questions here.

Anonymous

May 20, 2011 at 9:44 pm

Will this cut out the realtors? Or are they included. Redevelopment can be a monster, mix it with HUD and you may end up with Godzilla.

Anybody heard from Skippy lately? Seems like he vanished from the local blogosphere a few weeks ago. Maybe pre-raptured?

Plain Jane

May 21, 2011 at 12:33 pm

“Report) – After a much-heralded End of the World failed to materialize on the appointed day, May 21, Almighty God held a rare press conference in New York to discuss the matter.

Dressed in His trademark flowing white robe and carrying a thunderbolt, God seemed visibly irked by the predictions calling for the world to end this Saturday.

“I’ll end the world when I’m good and ready, Me damn it,” He snapped in response to a question from a USA Today reporter.

When asked if He had a message for the faithful who had expected the world to end today, the Almighty cracked, “They should be grateful for the eleven years they’ve had since the world ended on Y2K.”

God was cagey about setting an exact date for the end of the world, saying only, “When I decide to end the world I’ll let you know the way I always do – on Twitter.”

After the press conference, a publicist for God confirmed that the Heavenly Father was annoyed at having to talk to reporters to address the end of the world rumors: “Honestly, I haven’t seen Him this pissed since Pat Robertson blamed a tsunami on the gays.”

Elsewhere, Harold Camping, the preacher who predicted that the world would end on May 21, issued the following brief statement: “”The world doesn’t end this week. Oprah does. My bad, sry.”
Andy Borowitz

tra

May 21, 2011 at 6:44 pm

Well, the awful possibility that we’ve all been dreading has come to pass.

The little girl’s body was found in the Trinity River near Coffee Creek.

Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.

#1. ALL that debris + People in greater numbers did not live in like kind in years past. As each day passes by into the future, more people made density levels go-up, including the density of their worthless consumer junk thanks to individual greeds to consume corporate stuff.

#2 Data collection due to innovation, technologies and even tried and true time tested methods have been able to better document, or be able to document where documentation was hard, inaccurate or not successful/achieveable a way back a whence. To say we humans extrapolated, a way back when, information “as efficiently or more finite to the observations” then compared to today would be untrue. It is more than probable, and likely, the earth had worse environmental warming and cooling periods unassociated with mankind.

#3 To defend the sincerety of the article,

If no human being feels that the human race has not had “some sort of effect, environmentally on a global scale”, then those humans should not be allowed at the discussion table because they would either be a liar or a really naive/apathetic/stupid person. The mass over-populated planet proves humans have, even if minimal, some connected environmental impacts that affects us all on a global scale. Heck, even the government causes floods by re-routing floods, so there in another instance of human impact proof of environmental impacts. Question now is – how does the sum total all come together to understand with more clarity “global warming and gloabl cooling”. Afterall, does not the human body adjust itself to the rigors it is put through by heating up (sick)(lots of energy burning)(exposed to more sunlight) and cooling down (cold weather activities)(swimming)(being homeless on a cold and wet stormy winter night, thus seeking warmer and dryer conditions ), etc… When a person can consider that the human body is kinda like Mother Earth, maybe more rational discussions can be had about “climate change” since the climate is “ever-changing”.

JL

Mitch

May 25, 2011 at 8:32 am

Jeffrey,

Your points one and two are both true. I think if you check, you’ll see that climate scientists and even the lobbying organizations take them into account in their figures.

The article is mostly pointing out that predictions which were belittled by climate change denialists are coming to pass. Perhaps the mistake made by those worried about climate change was not giving a specific date for the end of the world. That seems to garner better press.

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

May 25, 2011 at 9:03 am

Thanks Mitch,

I am sure we both understand humanoids have impacted the planet on a global scale. The heart of the knowledge matter is getting better and better data to prove the what, where, whens and hows…the answers to the “who’s” and the “why’s” probably are already before us. More so today than ever before in “recorded history”, quantitative and qualitative data collection is getting better.

As far as predicitons, just as history has a weird way of similarly repeating itself, so too can the Earth repeat its changes similarly. As humans, we need to be a more respectful species using our noggins instead of being so greedy to consume and waste stuff.

JL

Anonymous

May 26, 2011 at 12:35 pm

Why is a religious fanatic being sworn in as the Eureka Police Department Chaplain?

I hope this is an appropriate spot to ask this. I moved to San Jose recently, and have not heard anything lately regarding the Jefferson School purchase. The last I had heard, Larry Glass had been appointed as group spokesperson (GREAT choice, by the way) and that they had opened escrow).

Has escrow closed, and is there an address I can send a donation too? I thought that perhaps I could just send a check to the Works, so if nobody knows, I will go that route.

Anonymous

June 1, 2011 at 3:02 pm

The police chaplain being sworn in owns a police uniform store. He used to be a Baptist minister. Maybe he still is.

Heidi Benzonelli

June 1, 2011 at 6:08 pm

Hi Adam. Westside Community Improvement Association is a 501C3 now and we greatly appreciate any help. Donations can be sent to:
Westside Community Improvement Association
PO Box 5315
Eureka CA 95502

We are presently in inspections and everything seems to be going smoothly.

We will be making official announcements soon hopefully (as soon as things are official!) Sorry to have been silent but purchase negotiations are private.

Thank you to all the generous donors and support from the community. This is your project, we will do this together.

Heidi

Anonymous

June 2, 2011 at 12:03 am

The Eureka Fire Department placed the new stainless steel cross on top of the First Methodist Church at Del Norte Street. For free.

Would they do the same for a mosque?

Should our city departments be doing favors for places of worship?

skippy

June 2, 2011 at 12:55 am

Thank you, Heidi and Adam.

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

June 2, 2011 at 7:32 am

12:02 am,

if this is true about the church getting publicly subsidized installation work by fire department (free of charge), then wow factor.

So, is one of the FD employees a church paritioner?

Anyhow, do explain why again these fire department types coming to the taxpayers for money to operate their servicings, but doing free “non-public safety response” work for religious entities. Separation of Church and State or symbiosis of church and state…..it appears the latter is moreso truer each fascist day (subsidizing religion through tax exemptions and service fee waivers, aside from due process exemptions).

“Running in the red: How the U.S., on the road to surplus, detoured to massive debt.”

By Lori Montgomery, Published: April 30

“The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis.

In January 2001, with the budget balanced and clear sailing ahead, the Congressional Budget Office forecast ever-larger annual surpluses indefinitely. The outlook was so rosy, the CBO said, that Washington would have enough money by the end of the decade to pay off everything it owed.

Voices of caution were swept aside in the rush to take advantage of the apparent bounty. Political leaders chose to cut taxes, jack up spending and, for the first time in U.S. history, wage two wars solely with borrowed funds. “In the end, the floodgates opened,” said former senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who chaired the Senate Budget Committee when the first tax-cut bill hit Capitol Hill in early 2001.

Now, instead of tending a nest egg of more than $2 trillion, the federal government expects to owe more than $10 trillion to outside investors by the end of this year. The national debt is larger, as a percentage of the economy, than at any time in U.S. history except for the period shortly after World War II.

“Polls show that a large majority of Americans blame wasteful or unnecessary federal programs for the nation’s budget problems. But routine increases in defense and domestic spending account for only about 15 percent of the financial deterioration, according to a new analysis of CBO data.”

“The biggest culprit, by far, has been an erosion of tax revenue triggered largely by two recessions and multiple rounds of tax cuts. Together, the economy and the tax bills enacted under former president George W. Bush, and to a lesser extent by President Obama, wiped out $6.3 trillion in anticipated revenue. That’s nearly half of the $12.7 trillion swing from projected surpluses to real debt. Federal tax collections now stand at their lowest level as a percentage of the economy in 60 years.

Big-ticket spending initiated by the Bush administration accounts for 12 percent of the shift. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have added $1.3 trillion in new borrowing. A new prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients contributed another $272 billion. The Troubled Assets Relief Program bank bailout, which infuriated voters and led to the defeat of several legislators in 2010, added just $16 billion — and TARP may eventually cost nothing as financial institutions repay the Treasury.

Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus, a favorite target of Republicans who blame Democrats for the mounting debt, has added $719 billion — 6 percent of the total shift, according to the new analysis of CBO data by the nonprofit Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative.”

“All told, Obama-era choices account for about $1.7 trillion in new debt, according to a separate Washington Post analysis of CBO data over the past decade. Bush-era policies, meanwhile, account for more than $7 trillion and are a major contributor to the trillion-dollar annual budget deficits that are dominating the political debate.”

Tokyo (CNN) — Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday.

Anonymous

June 8, 2011 at 11:54 am

Heraldo, The Times-Standard, in today’s front page story, did not print a consistency between its headline and its lead paragraph. See below.

County supervisors choose Willits contract for incorporated Eureka

HWMA to consider awarding recycling contract today

Donna Tam

THE TIMES-STANDARD

After much debate over the possible loss of jobs and pro­tecting rate payers, the Hum­boldt County Board of Supervisors voted unani­mously to sign onto a recy­cling agreement with a Men­docino-based company, but only for the unincorporated Eureka area.

Incorporated, unincorporated, doesn’t anybody at the Times-Standard know the difference?

Mitch

June 9, 2011 at 8:09 am

Does anyone know what’s happened to Plain Jane?

Anonymous

June 11, 2011 at 8:09 pm

She posted a message above on June 6.

walt

June 12, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Query: Would anybody pay any attention to Ann Coulter if she had black, curly hair and weighed 230 pounds?

Anonymous

June 12, 2011 at 6:16 pm

Does anybody pay attention to Ann Couler now?

Anonymous

June 12, 2011 at 6:16 pm

Or to Ann Coulter?

Plain Jane

June 12, 2011 at 7:33 pm

Now I want to change my name to Baby Jane, Mitch. I was on vacation without much time to post.

(Chilling Story) Mitch

June 13, 2011 at 9:00 am

There’s a chilling story in this morning’s NYT; the Fukushima nuclear plant manager had to disobey corporate orders in order to prevent a worse meltdown than occurred, which would have resulted in many, MANY more deaths.

But the manager did something unthinkable in corporate Japan: he disobeyed the order and secretly continued using seawater, a decision that experts say almost certainly prevented a more serious meltdown and has made him an unlikely hero.

Anonymous

June 13, 2011 at 6:05 pm

I note with humility that Charles Douglas predicted during the early stages of denial that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima was in fact much worse than we were being told – and I disbelieved him.

Plain Jane

June 14, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Please donate if you can and share this with others. This is a great opportunity for a local progressive to have some face time with the Obama administration.

From: Shane Brinton

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am writing to you because I have been offered a fantastic opportunity and I need your help to take advantage of it. A few days ago I received an invitation from President Obama to attend a reception at the White House in honor of young elected officials from around the country.

There will also be a three-and-a-half hour policy briefing with senior White House officials. We will be briefed on housing, immigration reform, innovation, energy, and the economy.

How could I turn down such a cool opportunity? I just purchased my plane tickets using a credit card. It came to $1,300! Many of you know there is no way that I can afford this with my income, but I was encouraged by friends to go for it, assuming that I would be able to raise the funds from our community. That’s why I’m reaching out to you. Can you please help me take advantage of this exciting opportunity?

Contributions may be sent to: 1166 I Street, Apt B, Arcata, CA 95521. As an elected official I am not legally allowed to accept gifts of $420 or more.

I’m a bit surprised that it’s legal to give hundreds of dollars to an elected official for their personal use.

Not that I think Shane’s vote is up for auction or anything — I’m confident that he’s got way too much integrity for that. But you’ve got to admit it that this sort of arrangement does look a bit weird.

If you’re having trouble seeing why, imagine that the person soliciting the funds was, say, Rex Bohn, and the people giving the funds were a whole bunch of Arkley family members and friends. I suspect that in such a case this blog would have a very different view of this kind of solicitiation.

I suppose you could say this is not all that different from candidates getting campaign contributions — but in that case the contributions (at least those of $100 or more) have to be reported to the public. In this case, I’m not sure whether there is a reporting requirement. If there isn’t, that creates a rather strange situation, where the elected official may be “indebted” to certain individuals, without the voting public having any knowledge of it.

Just to be clear, again, I’m not attacking Shane or suggesting that he would be corrupted by these gifts. I think it’s great that he’s been invited to the White House and I hope he enjoys his trip and makes good use of the opportunity for learning and networking. It’s just that the funding mechanism makes me a little bit queasy.

tra

June 14, 2011 at 3:40 pm

I guess Rex Bohn would not be a good comparison, given that he’s not an elected official. So, substitute, let’s say, Virginia Bass.

So disgusting, Mitch. I guess we should be thankful we have a corporate owned “liberal media” or they wouldn’t allow Democrats any air time even during a scandal. This again warrants the link to “Orwell Rolls in His Grave.”

I’d like to slap Weiner silly for being such a stupid fuck and providing a distraction from the reality that nothing is being done to address the problems most of us are concerned about.

Mitch

June 16, 2011 at 12:37 pm

I wish he’d just told the truth within 24 hours of his mistaken tweet. He’s another good, flawed human being.

It’s a mistake to support people remaining in office once they have been exposed as lying through their teeth. If nothing else, he should have realized that by the time he held his press conference to reveal that he’d been lying. Clinton at least had a fig leaf around his definition of sex, and Clinton had the good sense not to be named Weiner.

The Democrats should now release a list of every Republican in Congress who has objectively lied in public, along with the statements and the evidence that each statement is a lie. They should then call for mass resignations.

Farmer

June 17, 2011 at 11:37 am

I stumbled across this funny video about how cutting down a tree in virtual reality can make you a tree-hugger. It’s kinda ridiculous. There are so many ways to make fun of it that it could be good for a laugh.

All y’all pussy organic folks who use them tailor sacks of dirt that they corrupt companies call organic, check yourselves. Organic to they company means heavy metal like lead and arsenic. Everybody from big ballin corps to nickel and dime players do it. Lead as in fat assed chickens shitting hella lead all up in y’all purchased soils.

Got to tell CEO dude what the fuck we growing with now. Be all good if homie flipped the label on some Miracle-Gro and was all metal-free marijuana Scott’s Miracle-Gro, pH buffer blend. Folks’d spend ducats on buckets of that shit. Show them percentages on the fucking label. Spell the shit out for all these knuckleheads.

Not tryna troll the White-Rasta bitches too troll-style. But for serious, y’all don’t what the fuck goes into y’all dirt. Y’all never composted shit with your lazy asses. Seen y’all bitches tossing them empty bags out. Seen y’all talking about Babylon while y’all spending with the man. Check that Scott’s Miracle when it come out, mad stupid clean ass weed smoke, fo’ sheezy. Or, if it ain’t clean as fuck, Scott’s Miracle-Gro cannabis formula can eat a dick.

She suffered several lacerations to her body and injuries to her arms and legs.

Cali says the dogs, which belonged to a neighbor, entered the woman’s yard through a hole in a fence and were chased away by her hus­band James Mendoza.

A Scalia

June 20, 2011 at 8:04 am

Who do you little people think you are?

skippy

June 23, 2011 at 9:46 am

There’s some trouble brewing in Eastern Humboldt. This article in the Two Rivers Tribune written this week by Allie Hostler,Cultural Controversy in Orleans, is some of the more interesting news happening not being reported locally. This is a growing situation with serious implications.

“The Brush Dance is one of the many ceremonies Karuk people fought and died to preserve when gold miners ascended on Klamath River in the far reaches of Northern California changing forever the lives and landscape of the original people…

“Karuk people continue the struggle to preserve the continuity of their ceremonies, but sometimes the struggle is with each other. Although there are many stories on the River of what some refer to as ‘dance politics,’ this one is recent and has violent undertones.

“Risling family phones began to ring wildly on Wednesday morning with reports of a barbed wire being installed around the Panamnik dance house located just across Highway 96 from Orleans Elementary School. The family was due to begin making medicine for a Brush Dance there on Thursday morning, as they have every Father’s Day weekend for the past 12 years.

“The wire turned out to be a fence, put up by a group of workers from the Karuk Tribe’s Natural Resources Department and it’s no secret that Leaf Hillman and Norman Goodwin, sanctioned the installment of the fence…”

There’s much more of this controversy reported by Ms. Hostler in her well-done article.

You’re right, PJ! This is truly bizarre. The link and the article were up two minutes ago and now– poof! Both the link and the original article are… instantly gone. Disappeared and off the map. Never seen this before.

Shenanigans? Politics? Not paying the bills? More likely some sort of a simple glitch rather than subterfuge of a controversy? Technology is great– when it works.

Even going to H’s direct Two Rivers Tribune link on the sidebar shows the ‘domain name expired.’ I can’t explain nor know what gives here. Maybe it’ll come up later?

Heavens to Betsy. There’s a strange ghost in the machine here.

skippy

June 23, 2011 at 10:49 am

The Two Rivers Tribune website– or domain– seems to have been taken down– and only just recently. No trace of Allie Hostler’s article, “Cultural Controversy in Orleans,” can be found anywhere else on the web, either. Yours truly doesn’t know why. This is a hot issue developing. No doubt tempers and opinions are flaring from my reading of the article in it’s entirety– and the naming of individuals involved.

Plain Jane

June 23, 2011 at 11:22 am

Thanks for your efforts, Skippy. Hopefully the problem will be resolved and the article will be available.

Mitch

June 23, 2011 at 11:38 am

What happened to that book club? I’ve read the intro and the first two stories in Jon Humboldt Gates “Night Crossings” and they’re great! Is Jon Humboldt Gates still living around here?

tra

June 23, 2011 at 11:44 am

I believe Heraldo said that the discussion would get underway in July, so I assume he’ll post a thread about it at that time.

I wanted to give interested readers a month to get and read the book, which puts us in mid-July.

Plain Jane

June 23, 2011 at 12:30 pm

I’ve heard he lives elsewhere now, Mitch. I bought a new copy and am getting ready to re-read it. I’m hoping his book, “Falk’s Claim” makes it onto the reading list since I have owned it for quite a while but still haven’t gotten around to reading it. I grew up near the Falk “ghost town” and know people who risked life and limb to explore it before it was totally destroyed.

Anonymous

June 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Just heard that the Chief got fired. Heraldo is this true?

skippy

June 25, 2011 at 9:42 pm

The Two Rivers Tribune article by Allie Hostler here, “Cultural Controversy In Orleans,” and referred in the June 23 9:46 post, is back up again for interested readers. It’s a well-written article, a good read, and an ongoing community controversy.

There are way too many threads now on the police chief fired by Tyson issue. I just wanna know how does one go about requestuing an audit of the city managers office for the last 4 years? Do they have to order it on themselves or what? How do we find out if he has mismanaged or funnled money places it doesn’t belong?/

06em

July 1, 2011 at 8:27 am

According to Yahoo News:

The Department of Education has listed the 5 percent of colleges that hiked their tuition by the largest percentages over the past three years. The new listing is part of an effort to make college pricing more transparent to young people.

“The only newspaper based in Eastern Humboldt, The Two Rivers Tribune, which recently published a widely read interview with Humboldt’s most well known fugitive, Jason Hunsucker, has been ordered shut down immediately. The Hoopa Valley Tribe subsidizes the paper and Tribal Chairman, Leonard Masten Jr., citing the Hunsucker article as well as money issues and “articles promoting drugs” ordered the doors closed immediately…”

“”It’s just really disturbing that one man who didn’t like our articles can basically take two decades worth of hard work on our part, and just close it,’ (Interim Managing Editor Allie) Hostler said.

“Hostler said the newspaper’s Internet access was disconnected shortly before the end of the business day, but she was able to get it reinstated. She plans to publish the paper on Tuesday and is trying to rally local supporters to attend a council meeting at 9 a.m. at the tribal office in Hoopa on Tuesday. ‘We’re it,’ Hostler said. ‘At this point, I feel like we’ve proven ourselves. We’ve come a long way.’”

Yes, they’ve come a long way. The Two Rivers tribune is a real contender for journalism awards by their outstanding reporting, I believe; their forced demise would be a significant loss for the community.

tra

July 2, 2011 at 2:12 pm

I was about to post a comment about this story, but you beat me to it, Skippy!

I agree that the shuttering of this newspaper, and what seems like heavy-handed interference in the paper’s editorial decisions by the Tribal Chairman, is a very unfortunate development.

This is something that can all too easily happen when a media outlet is owned by a government entity, in this case a Tribal government. Unless that government entity commits itself to a completely hands-off editorial policy (except, perhaps, in the case of truly egregious pattern of misstating the facts) the media outlet is always going to be at risk of political interference, and even the knowledge that this risk exists can act as an inapproriate influence on content.

Probably the best outcome would be if the team that puts out the paper were able to break away and make it a truly independent news organization. Unfortunately the costs involved in that are probably just too prohibitive.

As someone who has friends in Hoopa, I’ll be following this issue as it develops.

skippy

July 2, 2011 at 4:06 pm

Thoroughly Reliable Also.

skippy

July 4, 2011 at 12:51 am

Two Rivers Tribune reporter Scottie Meyers has been urging others– all of us– to help support the newspaper by joining their TRT Facebook page avoiding their imminent closure:Support-the-Two-Rivers-Tribune Facebook Page.

The hunger strikers at California prisons are pulling a fast one on gullible liberals. The prisoners are refusing to eat prison food, but they take their meals privately from food they buy with their own money. Their so-called hunger strike is a farce.

Hey isn’t there a rule about nepotism in the city and at EPD? How come Ron Harpham gets to work under his dad’s supervision?

Anonymous

July 12, 2011 at 4:16 pm

Isn’t there a place in hell for people who encourage whole nations to abandon their systems of justice and replace them with mob rule, the rope, the tree, the burning flesh of the mob’s hatred? The same emotions that gave us Lynch Law in America only a few generations ago are now on public display on HLN every day and night.

tra

July 12, 2011 at 4:50 pm

HLN?

Anonymous

July 12, 2011 at 4:51 pm

The angry mob always thinks it knows more than jury, judge, and the law. Once the blood of the mob starts to rise, the heat can not be contained until more blood is spilled.

This is what governed America a hundred years ago. Lynch law.

Here it comes again. Nancy Grace in her shrill accusatory tones grates on our nation’s nerves until we ourselves long to pick up the torches and storm the jailhouse walls to hang the miserable wretch inside.

We don’t need laws and courts. We only need one angry media leader to point a finger – and legions of angry citizens will rise to tear the guilty party limb from limb.

Bringing “humanity” right back where we started from.

The Ape House.

Anonymous

July 12, 2011 at 4:55 pm

HLN = Headline News, an offshoot of CNN.

tra

July 12, 2011 at 5:14 pm

My impression is that Headline News and CNN are actually quite tame compared to a lot of the offerings on Fox News, including Sean Hannity, and (until recently) Glenn Beck — and then there’s the whole lunatic asylum of right-wing radio screamers like Michael Savage and Michael Medved and of course the king of the hot-air windbags, Rush Limbaugh.

Fortunately it’s only about 1/3 of the country — mostly those people who social scientists refer to as Authoritarian Followers — who actually take these nut-jobs seriously. Unfortunately, that hard-core 1/3 can do a lot of damage, especially when combined with the apathy and disengagement of another 1/3, and the division and in some cases ineptitude among the last 1/3.

Plain Jane

July 12, 2011 at 5:48 pm

Republican-leaning candidates (Protest Candidates) are running as Democrats in the Wisconsin recall races because, “Republicans said the protest candidates — whose entry forced primary elections rather than an immediate general election to decide the fate of the Republican senators — merely gave the senators a fair chance to campaign for their jobs.”http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/us/13recall.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

So it isn’t just here that Republicans pretend to be Democrats to get elected.

Eureka must have some fucked up karma or The Brady Bunch got it’s mojo workin’. Kill the Jefferson project. Misappropriate measure O money. Fire the Police Chief. Wal-Mart brings a Superstore to the Mall.
Now the rich can continue they’re colonial subrogation. Soon the death squad will be back.

tra

July 16, 2011 at 7:40 pm

Wal-Mart brings a Superstore to the Mall.

Well it wouldn’t be much of a “Superstore” at 73,000 square feet. For comparison, the Target store at the north end of Eureka is 126,000 square feet. I believe Winco and Costco are roughly the same size as Target, as far as square footage.

The proposed Foster-Gill development in Ridgewood, favored by local “Smart-Growth” aficianados, would include 200,000 square feet of new retail space, in that case on raw land out at the periphery, rather than in an existing commercial building at the Bayshore Mall.

That’s not to say I’d be happy about a WalMart locating here, even a smaller one. Their employment practices suck, and clearly they’d just be taking business away from other local stores. But it does seem likely that the main stores they’d be taking business from would be Target, K-Mart, Sears, Costco and that sort of thing.

If they had groceries, maybe Ray’s, Safeway, Winco would lose some business, though I’m not sure they could really beat Winco’s prices. And somehow (I’ve never been able to understand why) Safeway has survived all these years right next to Winco. Go figure.

Safeway is not much better than Walmart when it comes to local construction jobs. All contact with Safeway management prior to and during construction of their new Harris Street store remains unanswered.
Their uncaring and unresponsive nature to this community has resulted in the following handbill to inform the public, should they care.
—————————————————–
Safeway Inc. is No Friend
of
Local Construction Workers!

Please patronize OTHER area grocery stores until SAFEWAY demonstrates that they care about
OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY!

Thank you, The UNITED ASSOCIATION of PLUMBERS, & STEAMFITTERS Local No. 290
The Union is not asking any individual to cease performing any services, or to refuse to pick up, deliver or transport any goods.

Would you and your union support raising the minimum wage in Eureka and Humboldt County, since as you say “prices are generally higher here?”

have a peaceful day,
Bill

Plain Jane

July 18, 2011 at 7:44 pm

Can you tell us who your union supported for city council, for supervisor and their stance on the Marina Center and Home Depot, Sid?

Anonymous

July 18, 2011 at 8:57 pm

Sid, Jane just loves boycotts! Especially of Eureka. And High, well let’s just say prices aren’t the only thing “generally higher here”. Ask ’em if they support the public subsidizing of Arcata Community Recycling Center to preserve local jobs and, if so, what’s the difference here?

On his third pass, his chutes failed to deploy causing him to wreck at a speed of more than 200 miles per hour. As a result, Matthews suffered two broken legs, a broken shoulder and ribs, a concussion and bruises to his heart and lungs.

Donations to his recovery fund can be made at any Umpqua bank located in Humboldt.

Safeway, as brutal they are, did not break the grocery union
in Northern Humboldt, it was the faux left The Coop and especially Wildberries. Stores that owe so much to experienced union-labor, their department managers were replete with union-trained labor and the rest of the crew got the screw.
Here is how I remember it.
Safeway a union store, bargains for sub-tiered wages, for Humboldt, because none of the other stores are unionized.
Even the owner of Wildberries got his training from and owes the unions,
while working against any real AFL-CIO Teamster involvement, this in turn gives Safeway pardon to degrade wages in our area.

What does it mean when even Grover is walking back the no tax increase craziness?

“In other words, according to Mr. Norquist’s interpretation of the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, lawmakers have the technical leeway to bring in as much as $4 trillion in new tax revenue — the cost of extending President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for another decade — without being accused of breaking their promise.”Not continuing a tax cut is not technically a tax increase,” Mr. Norquist told us. So it doesn’t violate the pledge? “We wouldn’t hold it that way,” he said.”

It is the ultra rich who own the treasury bonds. They dropped a dime on old Grover and told him there ain’t gonna be no default.

There will be tax increases – but not on the rich.

have a peaceful day,
Bill

Plain Jane

July 21, 2011 at 10:28 am

You’re probably right, Bill.

“With the government staring at a potential default in less than two weeks, the officials said the administration on Wednesday night notified top members of Congress that an agreement between the president and Mr. Boehner could be imminent. The Congressional leaders, whose help Mr. Obama would need to bring a compromise forward, were told that the new revenue tied to the looming agreement to increase the debt limit by Aug. 2 would be produced in 2012 through a tax code rewrite that would lower individual and corporate rates, close loopholes, end tax breaks and make other adjustments to produce revenue gains.

Officials knowledgeable about the conversations between the administration and Congressional leaders said the details of the potential package remained unknown but they presumed it would include cuts and adjustments in most federal programs, including Medicare.”

It remains to be seen which tax breaks will end, whose taxes will be cut and how much they are taking away from working classes, but I’m betting that’s where all the pain will be inflicted. Obama is such a disappointment.

Eureka resident Ken “Shorty” Ames has been sentenced to 270 days in prison on charges of felony embezzlement.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Ames pleaded guilty to embezzling $250,000 over a five-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2006, and ending Jan. 1, 2011, from Pierson’s Building Center, where he worked as an employee. He is a former Crabs head coach and manager.

Judge Bruce Watson reduced Ames’ initial jail sentence from 360 days to 270 days Wednesday after Ames spent 90 days in a residential alcohol treatment facility.

Ames is scheduled to be committed to jail on July 30, and a restitution hearing has been set for Sept. 20.

Ou Nation turns its lonley eyes

July 23, 2011 at 7:07 am

Interesting, the T-S does not mention Tim was founder and CEO of Six Rivers National Bank. Wouldn’t want to offend any advertisers eh?

A Eureka-based financial advisor was discharged last month and his former firm is investigating allegations that he misappropriated money from clients.
Timothy D. Cochrane was discharged from Summit Brokerage Services Inc. on March 10 after working there for about four years, according to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority report. FINRA is the largest, non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public.

Cochrane’s former firm reported to FINRA that it was investigating suspicions that Cochrane misappropriated money from some of the firm’s clients and deposited funds into a bank account under his control.

According to a letter sent to Cochrane’s former Summit clients and submitted to the Times-Standard, clients were advised to not contact Cochrane or his daughter, Jana, regarding money matters, and to instead contact advisor Steve Suttell in the future.

Suttell said he could not comment on the situation, and calls to Summit’s corporate headquarters were not returned by deadline. No charges have been filed with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.”

So, the TS does not like to write about white collar crime

July 23, 2011 at 7:15 am

Tomorrow, Delores Reeves and her husband, Glenn stand in a Humboldt County courtroom. They are there to begin the process of answering allegations that they perpetrated one of the biggest frauds in recent Humboldt history. And, there has been almost no coverage of this story.

One of their alleged victims is slender and fit, her cap of silky silver hair cups golden skin only lightly touched by wrinkles. She smiles shakily as she sits upright behind the long wooden table in the offices of the Janssen law firm near the Eureka Courthouse. The shakiness is emotional though, not physical. She seems closer to middle-aged then elderly–the kind of woman who could grace an ad for vitamins, the kind of woman that makes growing older look easy. But on this day, her eyes are pink and swollen. When asked her name, she averts her head and half whispers that she’d rather not have it shared. She doesn’t want her name used. She lives in a small community where many people already know and her name is a matter of public record because she has filed a complaint with law enforcement. But, please don’t use it anyway, she asks.

She’s alleged to be a victim of what her lawyer Timothy Needham calls “an elaborate Ponzi scheme” by Delores Reeves and her husband, Glenn. And, in some ways, she’s a victim of a town that bills itself as the Friendly City of Fortuna. Like the town of Hadleyburg in Mark Twain’s story (The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg), Fortuna has a reputation as a town of very little crime, of solid citizens industriously working at the American Dream. And for the vast majority of its residents this is still true. But its silence is part of the problem. This woman was drained of around $400,000 and at least 7 other victims were similarly defrauded for a total of about $2 million. And there might be even more victims and more money stolen. But almost no one wants to talk about it publicly….”

Thanks, 9:56. I missed that. They didn’t identify the SWAT team as HCSD until the end of the article after mentioning SWAT several times when talking about EPD.

Walt

July 26, 2011 at 4:27 pm

NPR is saying the Postal Orifice wants to close 3800 post offices, including: Blocksburg, Honeydew, Kneeland, Korbel, Weott, Samoa, Redcrest and Philipsville. People receiving packages now in Kneeland will be expected to pick them up in Arcata. Will that be true for the rest of you?

THANK YOU for the local MoveOn.org chapter who came out to Eureka Farmer’s Market today to represent in defense of our social safety net. The social saftety net needs to be strengthened and made more inclusive, not weakened.

two nice opinion pieces in the TS the last two days. It would be great if folks on facebook would add supportive comments. Without comments the pieces seem to be in a vacuum. Better if there is strong support.

Plain Jane

July 28, 2011 at 6:29 pm

People don’t like to use their real names which is required to post on T-S articles now, Grackle. While it has cleaned up the cesspool that was the Topix forum, people want to post their opinions without the consequences that can result from having unpopular (with someone) views. Of course, people could make a Facebook account with a pseudonym and sign in through that portal.

Goldie

July 28, 2011 at 6:46 pm

Grackle you are very right in what you are saying. I often comment and will see if I can encourage others I know to do so as well.

Anonymous

July 29, 2011 at 9:57 am

Plain Jane’s most recent comment is correct. The T-S policy cleaned up their online comments section, but using Facebook requires people to self-identify. That, in turn, requires people to expose themselves to possible retaliation on the job. Speech ain’t free if your opinions differ from those of your employer. Anonymity offers the working stiff the only truly free forum.

I wonder if even HiFi realizes what we face if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. Why are we risking losing 40-50% of our value in our stocks and funds while raising, maybe doubling, interest rates. Think there are foreclosures now? Just wait on those adjustable mortgages.
HiFi might even agree that it’s simply NOT worth therisk to play chicken like this. Are you scared? I am!
Some of these posturing right wing idiots would wreck our country before they would even consider a compromise. It’s hard to believe we’ve been so throughly hijacked by this pack of ideologues. It’s a sad day in Washington and potentially a sadder day for the whole country. We’re not talking about the effects on a few thousand people. We’re talking about the effects on EVERYBODY (except maybe the megawealthy and maybe even them).
Hang on. It’s going to be a NASTY ride.

Anonymous

August 1, 2011 at 1:34 am

By tomorrow, we should know whether our President has deserted the American Middle Class.

Plain Jane

August 1, 2011 at 7:25 am

He has, 1:34. Now we are just waiting to hear how many of our congress members have.

Anonymous

August 1, 2011 at 8:36 am

people could make a Facebook account with a pseudonym and sign in through that portal.

Jane, my experience indicates there is active moderation of the TS forum and banning of users, sometimes legitimate users writing under their real names. I’m one such person and I don’t have the foggiest idea what comment I wrote that got me banned. I was writing there under my real name and have a healthy, active Facebook account. I discovered that my comments are visible to me while I’m logged into Facebook and visiting the TS website, but if I log out of Facebook, my comment(s) disappear from the TS website while all other comments remain. And, more importantly, other people are unable to see my comments. In short, most banned users won’t realize they’ve been banned. I figure if I got banned, there are probably a lot of babies going out with the bath water.

tra

August 2, 2011 at 9:38 pm

Heraldo,

Well, six episodes into its seventh season and finally the show “Weeds” has worked Humboldt County into its plotline.

Unfortunately, the episode is a bit heavy on the shotgun-brandishing, booby-trapping stereotype. No actual local scenery (I’m assuming it wasn’t filmed anywhere near here). Nor was there any local “greenery” — the plants were super-fake looking, and even if they were real, I think any actual outdoor grower in Humboldt would be pretty embarassed by those scraggly-looking things! But for a mainstream TV show, I guess it would be silly to expect something a bit more realistic.

I suppose we’ll have to see where the plotline goes from here (at the end of the episode, several of the main characters remain in “Humboldt,” so presumably we’ll see a lot more of that part of the storyline in the next few episodes). But in general it seems like this pop culture exposure will probably be good publicity for the Humboldt “brand,” for Humboldt’s biggest cash crop — especially the outdoor variety. (The characters have a little talk about how although indoor/hydro is “flawless” outdoor is much more “beautiful.”)

Wouldn’t it be great if in some of the next few episiodes, the characters discover at least a few of the other wonderful and unique things about Humbolt — the amazing landscapes, beaches, rivers, mountains, our quirky little towns and cities, etc.

It was Matt Owen who wrote the hit piece on Atkins without signing it and the ex-stooges approved having their names attached without reading it?

Anonymous

August 3, 2011 at 9:52 am

Judy Hodgson’s piece makes Matt Owen’s look like it was written by a grade schooler. Pay attention Eureka.

People laughed at Matt behind his back before this came out (I wonder if he could hear Rex’s laughter from his house in the same cul-de-sac!) , so this is just gonna add to that. I do give him credit for recognizing that he himself is probably unelectable, so he has hitched his wagon to some other stars. He has no depth and lacks some smarts, too, but he wants to be that big fish in the small pond in the worst way. Good thing he doesn’t work for Tyson.

REVENGE OF THE RATING AGENCIES
Jeffrey Manns, Associate Professor of Law
George Washington University

“The credit rating agencies are taking advantage of the country’s financial problems to increase their own political power. They want to ensure that regulators do not reduce their autonomy and influence.

“Their strategy is brilliant. They are not piling on all at once by downgrading the United States in concert. Standard & Poor’s is the bad cop for now, taking the first swipe at the United States last Friday, and seeing its influence confirmed by the stock market’s dramatic reaction. Moody’s and Fitch are playing the good cop — exercising restraint about a potential downgrade, yet still flexing their muscles by criticizing the government both publicly and behind the scenes.

The rating agencies have the federal government over a barrel. If politicians ignore rating agencies’ warnings, they risk a withering assault of additional downgrades that could undercut confidence in the government and inflict soaring interest rates. The good-cop, bad-cop routine is especially potent because a downgrade by two of the three major rating agencies could lead to negative consequences, such as requiring some bond issuers to secure additional collateral.”

My opinion:
For a corporation to have such a strangle hold on our economy that a little squeeze can send the stock market crashing and increase our interest payments by billions a year because they don’t want to be investigated for potential malfeasance of their past bond ratings which crashed our economy (and block regulations to make them accountable) should be absolutely terrifying to people who believe they live in a free country with anything resembling a free market. It should also make people wonder why any American would be so opposed to investigation that they would create such chaos in the global economy to avoid it. This could also explains why even with their $2 trillion dollar error in their report to explain the downgrade, they did it anyway. Of course, the panicked selling on Monday became a huge sale for those sitting on hoards of cash and a political life raft for the GOP and the Tea Party. The “liberal” media isn’t helping either when they repeat snippets of the report which mostly talks about reducing the debt but not increasing the revenue.

What if they deliberately gave false ratings to mortgage bundles to crash the economy. The rich get proportionally richer in a depression because they are the only buyers of depressed value assets. That could explain their extreme efforts to permanently block oversight and that will inevitably lead to more corruption. Things are not looking good for democracy or in this country.

Fact Checker

August 10, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Latest News (from the T-S)
Updated: August 10, 2011 1:12:13 PM PDT

Cypress Grove enters escrow on McKinleyville property
Cypress Grove Chevre announced today that it has entered escrow on a 38-acre site on Dow’s Prairie Road in McKinleyville with plans to build its new goat dairy. [Full Story]http://www.times-standard.com/ci_18654353

Fact Checker

August 10, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Dow plummets 520 points

Debbi Towns

August 12, 2011 at 4:32 pm

i got hold of some very interesting projects the city wants done…and the cost behind them..for instances do you know that it will cost $165,000 to paint the exterior of the adorni center
? and for installing force air heaters in station#3 a merely $65,000? anyone who wants more info can request a copy of the Capital Outlay Budget List. Looks like someone hit the jackpot, oh one more the zoo barnyard building needs $11,000. for gutter guards!! why the need for gutters with all those animals around? better yet why not have the city council get out there and stand “guard” they’d fit in with the rest of the turkeys!

Plain Jane

August 12, 2011 at 5:09 pm

I’m done complaining about how much my house cost to paint last time. How could it cost that much to paint it?

In the “Credit Where Credit is Due” department, thanks to councilmembers Newman, Madsen, and Ciarabellini for approving the new bike lanes on Harris Street in Eureka.

The vote was 3-1 with Brady dissenting and Atkins absent. The Times-Standard notes that they approved it yesterday after a number of them had shown skepticism toward the idea last week, but also after more than a dozen people spoke in favor of it during public comment.

Could it be that the council majority (or at least some of them) are learning that they ought to actually listen to and seriously consider the point of view of the members of the public who take the time to come speak at Council meetings, rather than just dismissing public-comment speakers as “a vocal minority” and then reflexively opposing anything that the progressive faction in the city favors?

Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

tra

August 17, 2011 at 6:04 pm

By the way, it seems like Atkins has been absent quite a bit lately. Anyboody know what’s up with that? I hope she’s O.K..

At any rate, I’m glad her absence didn’t lead to the failure of this bike lane proposal.

Times-Standard requires me to get a new Technavia password multiple times today, yet I never gain access to the online newspaper I pay good money for. Consider me Ticked Off.

Walt

August 28, 2011 at 4:27 pm

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

“All my very best,

“Jack Layton.”

Look him up.

Plain Jane

August 30, 2011 at 10:45 am

EJ Dionne’s column today:

“But while I was looking through the polls to figure out where Perry is getting his support, I ran across a startling table that tells us a lot about the Republican Party, and why Perry has taken off so fast.

Check out this link and scroll down to page 5 of this CNN/ORC poll released this week. Note all the columns with “N/A” all the way down — every region in the country except the South.

What this reveals is that the only region in which there were actually enough Republicans to analyze was the South. In every other region, the pollsters just didn’t run across enough GOP loyalists to offer a responsible analysis. (And kudos to CNN/ORC for being statistically responsible here.)

Now check out another chart on the next page, by age. Here, again, the Republican shortage is striking, this time among younger voters. The only groups that provided enough Republicans to analyze were in the two categories 50 and older.

Yes, the GOP these days is pretty old and pretty Southern. It’s also very conservative. Any wonder why Perry has taken off?”

any time for an abate update. wasn’t he recently arrested maybe a month ago for bow and arrow/vengeance type stuff? bet hank knows details.

Plain Jane

September 9, 2011 at 11:22 am

Estelle Fennell resigned from HumCPR!

tra

September 9, 2011 at 1:12 pm

Interesting. Where did you hear the news? And did she cite any particular reason for resigning?

tra

September 9, 2011 at 1:22 pm

I can hadly believe it, but it looks like Sarah Palin said something that actually makes some sense:

“She made three interlocking points. First, that the United States is now governed by a ‘permanent political class,’ drawn from both parties, that is increasingly cut off from the concerns of regular people. Second, that these Republicans and Democrats have allied with big business to mutual advantage to create what she called ‘corporate crony capitalism.’ Third, that the real political divide in the United States may no longer be between friends and foes of Big Government, but between friends and foes of vast, remote, unaccountable institutions (both public and private).

So…I try and keep my shopping locally…try to be a ‘good’ consumer and what did I get for my patronage? Well I’ve got a yarn for you…Last February I went to Moores SleepWorld to buy a mattress. I went there because I had before and liked the bed. I plopped a grand down and all’s well till August when I notice a tear at the piping under the handle, I looked on the other side and there too was a tear. I called the store and explained what I saw. I got alot of attitude, since they were a small business they couldn’t afford the cost basically telling me to eat the cost because the defect wasn’t under warranty and when I said I’d see them in small claims I was yelled at for making a threat. Since it wasn’t covered under the warranty the best thing they could do was to send the mattress back to the manufacturer to sew the tears. I suggested that the manufacturer should just send me a new mattress, just the top mind you, well that meant no bed for 2 or more weeks..that wasn’t doable so Moores said they would try to think of something. I got a call back and they were willing to let me borrow one until mine was fixed. I was ok with that but still thought why pay the shipping and handling plus the new material and time and labor why not just send me a new mattress? It makes no sense. It’s no wonder prices are high..some business’ just don’t have any common sense. The mattress was even made in the US. I know that things happen but don’t blame the consumer and have more common sense about the cost of fixing over replacing a defected product.
Thanks for the soundboard!
DTowns

Anonymous

September 11, 2011 at 8:32 pm

Does anyone know the outcome of that accident on 299 between Arcata and Blue Lake just before the first Mad River bridge? It looked pretty bad when I went by it, a white car turn on its top and lots of cops and other officials around working on the situation but hard to see what went on?

Charles has worked very hard developing and improving his site lately. He’s done many segments covering local issues as well as interviewing local politicos for both Access Humboldt and the video version of the Sentinel.

Me? I’m simply helping Charles out for his countless volunteer hours that he’s done for the Humboldt community. His site looks good; that’s why I’m suggesting this. It fills both a niche and void in our local news. I have his permission sending this to you and he’d be delighted if you and readers took a look— and linked to his site. Thanks!

Ed

September 19, 2011 at 3:08 pm

Ralph Nader announced he will run for pres. This should be good.

Ed

September 19, 2011 at 3:24 pm

Sorry,I was misinformed, Nader is seeking a slate of Dems. to challenge Obama in debates. Even better.

insider

September 19, 2011 at 5:20 pm

Yes Tyson crony Dave Hull has been sacked! The question is how long does Patty Tyson last? Does this mean Dave Tyson stays on as manager longer?

Back to the Harbor Commission CEO…Hull is out and now Patty Tyson is in? Whaaaaat?

Anonymous

September 29, 2011 at 4:57 pm

She might be in as interim, but Hull was unanimously booted so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the position.

Plain Jane

September 30, 2011 at 8:48 am

This is the best essay I’ve read articulating a liberal’s view of today’s Republicans from a WaPo response to Stromberg’s column today, “Rick Perry backs down.” Is it accurate?

lelliot4 said
“If you are a Republican and want to win an election where only Republicans are voting, you never apologize and you never back down. Compassion for anyone not in your tribe is verbotten. You have to claim to have Jesus as your guide, but ignore his teachings. Sacrifice for the good of all is definitely out. Your money is your money and anyone who thinks taxes should go anywhere but down is a socialist Marxist engaging in class warfare. The East German method of keeping people from illegally crossing the border is acceptable. Government should stay out of people’s lives except for things that in any way involve sex. Then total government control is a good thing. The war on drugs should continue regardless of its collateral damage.
The only way to save America is to allow the rich to get richer and stop wasting money paying teachers a living wage to teach at public schools. All labor rights gained in the 20th century should be repealed. Unions should be destroyed. And of course the minimum wage laws should be repealed along with profit killing safety and environmental laws.
A good Republican wants America to go back to the good old days before Roosevelt and his band of Communists destroyed America by giving rights to the working class. Back to a day before those pin headed smarty pants scientists put crazy ideas in the heads of people like evolution, global warming, and that humans are in any way responsible for changes in the environment.
A good Republican knows that the best way to deal with any moral weakness he may be struggling with is to punish others for the same thing.
Also being a good Republican means you make up your mind quickly about an issue based on what your gut tells you. A five second sound bite of a politician saying something that agrees with what your gut tells is true is all you need to know. Then, once your mind is made up, any facts that may contradict what you know in your gut to be true must be rejected. Not only that, you must attack the mushy brained liberal for having the temerity to question what you know to be true. Facts should in no way influence your thinking. Finally, anyone who disagrees with your thinking wants to destroy America, the land of freedom where people have a right to their own opinion as long as they agree with yours.”

Mitch

September 30, 2011 at 9:43 am

Ryan Burns’ piece on Pelican Bay prison in this week’s North Coast Journal is excellent. It deserves a read.

caliboy

September 30, 2011 at 10:13 am

God you are ignorant Jane.

Plain Jane

September 30, 2011 at 10:34 am

You need to be more specific about which of those beliefs isn’t held by good Republicans, Caliboy.

Anonymous

September 30, 2011 at 3:14 pm

The Sentinel reports Chief Nielson is suing Eureka and Tyson by Garr.

Goldie

October 3, 2011 at 9:34 am

What is this about?
From todays TS:forward.
On the council’s consent calendar, which includes matters expected to be passed without much discussion or fanfare, the council is expected to approve a response to the Humboldt County grand jury, which investigated claims that EPD had a conflict of interest in investigating a past report of wrongdoing, which may have involved an unidentified elected official. After investigating the matter, the grand jury is recommending that the city update the EPD policy manual with precise instructions on how to handle conflicts of interest or nepotism.
In its proposed response, Eureka is agreeing with the grand jury’s findings and notes the existing policy was not followed “per the decision of the department head,” and states that it has asked that EPD’s policy manual be updated by the outside law firm that created it.

suzy Q

October 3, 2011 at 9:47 am

Goldie it’s about Frank Jager

Goldie

October 3, 2011 at 10:09 am

Thank you for your reply Suzy but it is still very vague.

Anonymous

October 3, 2011 at 12:02 pm

Funny I heard rumors about Frank and a lady of the evening (from a lady of the evening).

caliboy

October 3, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Jane if you seriously believe any of that garbage you printed it proves your ability to comprehend reality is totally out to lunch. You are in just a groupie. You actually fit the definition that you printed.
One sorry human being.

Goldie

October 3, 2011 at 1:05 pm

LG is not an elected official therefore FJ story carries more weight but it is still all secret.

Sure I’ll acknowledge PJ’s screed has a bunch of hyperbole and exaggeration.

But come on, there’s a good reason Bush tried to coin the phrase ‘compassionate conservatism’ because it’s understood and accepted that conservatives are heartless and uncompassionate, giving only when they figure to get back more in return. Ultimately, conservatives are about control and domination over people with the intent of elevating themselves by diminishing others. They call their actions ‘competition’ but the way they do is actually predation.

skippy

October 6, 2011 at 3:24 pm

This just in through Associated Press:

“SAN FRANCISCO– Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state’s 15-year-old medical marijuana law…”

And a very special thanks to all the individuals
who participated in this year’s cleanup.

Carl C. Brandt
President, Lost Coast 4×4’s

Richard "Rick" Khamsi

October 10, 2011 at 2:53 pm

It’s always great to hear of the good work you and the Lost Coast 4 x 4’s 4-Wheel Drive Club are doing to help heal the Eel River, Carl.

I’ll try and get myself in good shape to participate in next year’s Eel River Cleanup.

Plain Jane

October 11, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Careful if you go to the beach in the next few days:

NOAA Warning

“REDWOOD COAST-MENDOCINO COAST-
911 AM PDT TUE OCT 11 2011

…THREAT OF SNEAKER WAVES INCREASING THIS MORNING…

SNEAKER WAVES WILL IMPACT THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST AS A RESULT OF A STRONG STORM SYSTEM OVER THE NORTH PACIFIC. FORERUNNER SWELL HAS BEGUN TO ARRIVE ALONG THE COAST. MORE PERSISTENT SURF WILL
ARRIVE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON WITH BREAKERS OF 18 TO 21 FEET EXPECTED INTO WEDNESDAY.

SNEAKER WAVES ARE EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE WAVES THAT OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING AFTER 10 TO 20 MINUTES OF SMALLER WAVES. IF VENTURING TO THE BEACH…STAY AWAY FROM THE SURF AND NEVER TURN YOUR BACK TO
THE OCEAN.

Tom Fredriksen

October 12, 2011 at 8:23 am

I just had a twitter exchange with H and realized I never posted here to say goodby. Thait was rude, so Goodby everyone in Humboldt. No I haven’t joined a Montana Militia . I own a cedar milling operation in Wa state and returned here for business reasons. Still have family and strong lifelong ties to Humboldt and return when I can. Thanks to H for all the ink over the years and everything he does for the County. I get in trouble for saying that from my righty friends but he will post anything you have to say…..

This last year has been in flux for me with the business so I haven’t had the chance to be as active on the air as I wanted. I am involved now with several stations in behind the scenes things with little left over time. When I get more back to normal will let H know on my new relaunch.

Best to everyone and I am off today to join my brothers in support of the Wall street protests and occupy the Lady fingers Full Release Oriental Massage Parlor. I hope to gather followers to protest the man.

I have often wondered at posters seeking a world with more justice and social kindness resort to name calling and bulling. I have read studies stating that social position can become more important than food to humans. Pecking order some studies suggest is reason enough for wars. This study presented by Anderson Cooper is about school kids but it is easily read with blogger world in mind.
*Kids are caught up in patterns of cruelty and aggression that have to do with jockeying for status
*Said one aggressor, “Once you start realizing that you can have … higher social power by putting other people down … that’s, like, how people are moving up and that’s how they’re gaining respect.”
The study made two breakthroughs that give Faris reason for hope. The first discovery is that aggressive behavior, on the whole, does not actually work to elevate kids’ social status
The second discovery is that behavior is contagious. When students are aggressive, there’s a higher likelihood that their friends will become aggressive. But Faris said, “there’s also the possibility that positive behaviors can also spread through social networks and that kids may be more likely to intervene in bullying situations if they see their friends stepping in to stop things, or if they see their friends discouraging that kind of behavior.”

Our current bullies here in Eureka are a good example. Mean boys and girls and there are others desperate to emulate.

tra

October 14, 2011 at 6:52 pm

This just in:

Security National Properties Funding III, LLC declares bankruptcy!

Security National Properties Funding III, LLC announced today that it is voluntarily seeking relief to restructure its bank financing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Whatever the problems might be with the public schools its not because we are throwing money at them. To continue down this path will be disaster for the economy of Calfornia. We must invest in our young, in education, in the future, in social infrastructure and social capital. It is time to return to the California values of a free education for everyone.

have a peaceful day,
Bill

California school spending among lowest in the nation
October 17, 2011 | Joanna Lin, California Watch

“Budget shortfalls have pushed California’s spending on public schools to a historic low, relative to the rest of the United States, according to a new analysis by the California Budget Project.

California ranks 46th in the U.S. in K-12 spending per student. It spent $2,856 less per student in 2010-11 than did the rest of the nation – a spending gap that is four times wider than it was a decade earlier, when the state lagged behind by $691 per student.

……

It’s not just spending in which the state ranks poorly: California ranked last in the nation in the number of students per teacher (20.5) and per librarian (5,489), 49th in the number of students per guidance counselor (810) and 46th in the number of students per administrator (301).”

For all you shallow-thinking and selfish Limboughts who rail against Obamacare, this is what happens when you “let the markets decide” on something that has no business being about business.

Anonymous

October 21, 2011 at 7:23 pm

I see in the Times Standard the city is going after Floyd Squires. While they are at it they should go after Jim Paye, a landlord that ruins lives of the neighbors of his properties. He rents to low life druggies. He owns way more properties than Squires. Well over 50.

Plain Jane

October 21, 2011 at 8:04 pm

Alabama brings back slavery for Latinos | Axel Caballero

So, here is how it goes. First, the state passes a harsh immigration law. Then, it detains large numbers of immigrants. Third, private prisons (LCS, CCA, GEO) receive fresh inmates. And finally, the artificially created labor shortage is supplied by the new inmates. Does this sound like modern-day slavery to anyone?

The rest of the country can only look in shock and dismay, as once again, Alabama, a state renowned for its historical role in racism, segregation and slavery, leads the nation into another round of shame.

Wonder why there is nothing in the Baton Rouge press/news about the recent Security National Chapter 11 filing. Under the circumstances, I can see the Arkleys seeking refuge in their home in LA. After all, they just hosted a major Republican fundraiser there, as previously mentioned on this site. Their reputation there may remain untarnished.

Sharing my first news-link roundup in the local Sentinel blog for readers, I’d appreciate any comments, feedback, and critical suggestions you have, either at the site or here. What works, what doesn’t, what you like or hate. I’d like to hear how it could be better… or whether it should be relegated to the scrap heap.

Thanks, Mitch. Hey! You’re a good writer, Mitch. Very good. Please consider making a contribution of your own over there with editor Charles Douglas. Whatever interests you and fits.

Charles says he’d like to see more contributions making it more of a community involvement, just like here. He’d enjoy your help and the respite. This goes out to others, too; all of you. Tra, PJ, Hi-Fi, or anyone with a passing interest might like to consider this idea (sorry if I didn’t mention you all by name but you know who you are).

To Kevin Hoover and Tra.
If you are going to advocate pulling vegetation
on our coastline, why not do the responsible thing
and come on out and witness the results.
I’ll meet you there at the Manila Community Center
(at your convenience).
Within an hour you’ll understand that this removal
of vegetation is not a restoration at all, it is a eradication
that leads to wetland loss, our hind dunes are no longer
functioning as wetlands. That we are using wetland money
and destroying wetlands is something for you two to address.
There were twenty-one adults pulling vegetation from
our fore-dunes yesterday. Thanks Kevin and Tra, the damage will be generational.

Arak Nid

October 31, 2011 at 7:56 am

While normaily I would not direct a fellow human to traverse a fetid swamp, it is imperative that any small businessperson in Humboldt reads the Humboldt Mirror post of Oct. 24 2011 and you will see what Robin Arkley really thinks about you.

Then you must take this into consideration next time you are asked to vote for an Arkley shill for political office.

Go read it and tell me that Arkley doesn’t think all you small business people are just cockroaches that need to be crushed.

Mitch

October 31, 2011 at 8:14 am

Arak Nid,

People can skip the swamp (you’re welcome) and go directly to Surowiecki’s foolishness here:

Or, here’s the relevant dismissive quote: “Some of the support derives from real virtues that small companies offer—diversity of choice, connection to local communities. But much of it derives from the idea that the nation’s economic well-being depends on such companies.”

Surowiecki’s big point is that by giving up diversity of choice and connections to local communities, among other things, we can all get to buy 2% more Chinese plastic crap by working for huge retailers that have squeezed every ounce of humanity, neighborliness, and compassion out of their behavior and replaced it with MBA-driven “efficiency.”

But don’t worry, there will still be signs on the doors saying “Thank you for your business!” as long as market testing indicates those signs increase profits.

The Texas woman who released a 7-year-old video [she was 16] showing her being beaten by her father, a Texas judge, says she has “some regret” over making the tape public. Hallie Adams, in an interview with NBC’s Today show calls …

fast eddie

November 4, 2011 at 6:46 pm

Just read the piece in the NCJ about Movado (sp?) I assume that the blogger Mitch is the same as the one who raised the issue in NCJ. My question for him is were do you draw the line with violent lyrics?

Why loss of wetland spells suicide for Manila.
Special thanks to those who used ‘science’ to lie and screw our natural resources, when it was all about money.
Especially the ones that used HSU, shows our university to be backwards in its science, a complete shill.
Wetlands monies used to destroy wetlands.
Girard Woolley and Ihara, your fingerprints are all over this.

They say the levees that ring the city have led to the rapid decay of nearby wetlands during the past century, removing a crucial buffer zone that once protected the area from hurricanes.

Hurricanes quickly lose force when they hit land, but New Orleans is now vulnerable to violent storms because the land around it has been rapidly disappearing. Today, New Orleans is almost completely exposed to the Gulf of Mexico, said Val Marmillion, a consultant for the America’s Wetland group, which is lobbying for the Louisiana coast area.

“There are almost open water conditions around New Orleans now,” Marmillion said. “Because of wetland loss some areas of Louisiana are no longer protected at all.”

Wetlands act as a “speed bump,” slowing down storms almost like dry land does, said Kip Patrick, spokesman for America’s Wetland. “They take some of the brunt of the force of the hurricane, weakens the storm like any land mass would.”

Sidney Coffee, executive assistant to the governor for coastal activities, said about 1,900 square miles of wetlands have disappeared from the area since the 1930s, and the receding continues at a rate of about 24 square miles per year. The erosion has a direct impact on New Orleans’ ability to absorb the blow of a storm like Katrina, she said. For every 2.7 miles of wetlands, storm surges are reduced by about one 1 foot, she said.

“We’ve tried and tried and tried to tell people this is real, this is happening. This is happening a little bit every day,” she said. “But it’s a real emergency.”

Area residents can see the effects of decreased wetlands even with large thunderstorms, she said. Some area highways now flood regularly just from the day’s high tide, she said.

“We’ve lost so much of (the wetlands), it puts cities at greater and greater risk,” Coffee said.

Several factors — most human-made — have contributed to the steady decline of the delta at the bottom of the Mississippi. But most of the erosion is blamed on the levees, which faithfully steer all the water from the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. That prevents occasional flooding, keeping area residents above water most of the time. But one unforeseen consequence of the levees has been to cut off wetlands from their life force.

Advertise | AdChoicesThe regular floods served nature’s purpose by feeding the delta, bringing fresh water and sediment that served to sustain life and replenish the wetlands. Without the regular flooding, the wetlands naturally “compact.”

“Simply put, when the land does not have any nutrients and fresh water it dies,” Marmillion said.

Fixing the problem will be costly and time consuming. Area citizens regularly donate old Christmas trees which are strategically placed in the marshes to help retain sediment, but the effort is largely symbolic, Coffee said.

“The entire area has to be re-plumbed,” she said. “You have to build on what you have. It’s a very complex solution.”

About $14 billion is needed for a variety of projects, including diverting river water and manually depositing sediment. Even still, it’ll take about 20 years to reverse the effects erosion, she said.

So far, only a tiny portion of those funds are being spent. The recent energy bill passed by Congress contains about $540 million to start anti-erosion projects. Another $2 billion, earmarked for Army Corp of Engineers projects, has been proposed as part of a water resources bill currently making its way through Congress.

“This is a very intense effort that would go on to do this,” she said. “But the costs of not doing it are far greater.”

Adding more fuel in the “Sucks to Be Us” or “Generation Jobless” vein, a new analysis of Census data from the Pew Research Center finds the wealth gap between older and younger adults gets even bigger, the Associated Press reported. This won’t be news to Millenials occupying their old bedrooms back at their parent’s home, who, as Noreen Malone pointed out in her New York magazine story, are already coming to grips with the notion that they might not be better off than the previous generation. But the Pew analysis looks stark:

As a result of these divergent trends, in 2009 the typical household headed by someone in the older age group had 47 times as much net wealth as the typical household headed by someone in the younger age group–$170,494 versus $3,662 (all figures expressed in 2010 dollars). Back in 1984, this had been a less lopsided ten-to-one ratio.

Ohioans voted Tuesday night to repeal a Republican-backed law that restricted collective bargaining for public workers, a victory for Democrats and labor organizers both nationally and in the state.

AP has declared Issue 2 (as the law was called on the ballot) dead. As of this writing, with about a quarter of precincts in, repeal led by a whopping 63 to 37 percent margin.

WHOOP WHOOP!!

skippy

November 9, 2011 at 12:04 am

That’s amazing, PJ. Wow.

Plain Jane

November 9, 2011 at 7:13 am

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but when times get hard the fools start paying attention so they don’t get fooled again.

Mitch

November 10, 2011 at 1:34 pm

How does a nonviolent protester get a ruptured spleen? This way:

This is from the protest at UC Berkeley.

I’ve yet to see video of the arrest of Kayvan Sabehgi, the Oakland man hospitalized with a ruptured spleen after being arrested for “resisting arrest” while trying to go home

Anonymous

November 10, 2011 at 5:03 pm

The new PLAZA in Rio Dell is the smartest planning thing I have seen around here in decades. Mark my words, it will mean success for that town. Without a central square, a town has a hard time establishing a central business and community area. This is going to work, I think.

skippy

November 11, 2011 at 1:50 pm

Heraldo, your link to The Lumberjack is broken on the sidebar. This link works:

Junior appropriators can be cut off without a hearing
by Holly Doremus

The Niobrara River
The Eighth Circuit has rejected a claim by farmers in Nebraska’s Niobrara Watershed that their civil rights were violated when the state’s Department of Natural Resources issued “Closing Notices” ordering them to stop drawing water. The farmers asserted that they were entitled to a due process hearing before the property rights granted by their state-issued surface water appropriation permits could be cut off. The court, however, found that their property rights had not been infringed. Nebraska is a prior appropriation state, and the complaining farmers’ water rights were junior to those of the Nebraska Public Power District. Junior appropriators have the right to use w ater only when there is enough to supply all senior appropriators. Therefore, the court held, “the issuance of Closing Notices does not impact the property right bestowed by the permit to use the surface water when there is sufficient capacity.” Since no property right was affected, the farmers were not entitled to a pre-closing hearing.

Christopher Petrella, Op-Ed: Less than one mile southeast at 4000 Orange Street stands the Robert Presley Detention Center, one of five jails in Riverside County operated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Each cell comes fully equipped with running water, a mattress, and a circumambulating correctional officer. Beginning early next year rooms here and in other county facilities can be reserved for a rate of $142.42/day. On October 8th the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a measure that authorizes the municipality to begin charging prisoners $142.42 per day of their prison stay in an effort to save the county up to $5 million dollars per annum

longwind

November 13, 2011 at 9:36 pm

I know how unlikely this sounds, but the bankruptcy of MediaNews, the evil corporation that owns most of our North Coast newspapers, has swept in a new publisher, with hope in his wake:

“What I can say is that the reporters there now work for a company that wants to put out a good newspaper. They have a sense of mission. . . . Paton took a string of notoriously bad newspapers and is trying to reinvent them. He’s a real news guy, not some corporate windbag.”

Why should he and his co-workers have to come in at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving, just so the masses can do battle over door-buster deals? And why should shoppers have to shorten their holiday just to get in line for this annual carnival of conspicuous consumerism?

“Some of my fondest memories came from the Thanksgiving holiday, being around the dinner table with grandparents and my mom and dad,” Hardwick says. “We’re robbing people of that.”

Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee who started a petition to against the store opening on Thanksgiving. Until recently, a well-meaning employee like Hardwick might be told to shut up, get back to work and plan on wearing a smile come midnight. But the world is changing. Hardwick discovered a website called Change.org, where he instantly launched a petition drive against Target Corp. and its chief executive, Gregg Steinhafel. It’s called “Push back the opening of Target retail stores on Black Friday to 5 a.m.” Read the petition at Change.org.

Plain Jane

November 16, 2011 at 10:54 am

Now it becomes clear why the GOP was so quick to blame Barney Frank for the failure to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“Gingrich said he didn’t remember exactly how much he was paid, but a former Freddie Mac official said it was at least $1.5 million for consulting contracts stretching from 1999 to 2007. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter.”

“Before Gingrich was hired, Freddie Mac paid $2 million to a Republican consulting firm to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed both companies.

The $2 million was money well spent. The legislation died without ever coming to a vote on the Senate floor. But the danger of regulation wasn’t dead, so Freddie Mac hired more consultants, Gingrich among them.

Internal Freddie Mac budget records show $11.7 million was paid to 52 outside lobbyists and consultants in 2006, all of them former Republican lawmakers and ex-GOP staffers. Besides Gingrich, the hires included former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato of New York, former Rep. Vin Weber of Minnesota and Susan Hirschmann, the former chief of staff to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.”

52 former GOP lawmakers and staffers to make legislation they didn’t like go away and then the crash was all Barney’s fault.. Funny,no?

Yup, and to put the icing on the cake, Gingrich had the nerve to try to pretend that he was just hired as a “historian” and that his main contribution in that role was that he had tried to warn his employers that they were creating a mortgage bubble.

There’s just one small problem with this narrative, namely that nobody that he worked with there seems to remember either his role, or his advice, in a way that even remotely resembles the way Gingrich tried to spin in in the debate.

Apparently what Gingrich means by “historian” is someone who simply re-writes their own personal history, distorting the facts in whatever way is convenient for them at the present time.

Mitch

November 18, 2011 at 3:33 pm

Remember Kayvan Sabehgi, the Iraq war vet who was beaten in Oakland while trying to get home? The UK-based newspaper The Guardian has found video of the incident. I guess it’s just too hard for any US newspaper to do so. Watch as Mr. Sabehgi is dealt with by the police:

NEWS FLASH! Hundreds of socialist fire personnel who are all members of commie unions are fighting to protect hundreds of homes of mostly rich people in the foothills west of Reno Nev.

Its a good thing those cutbacks won’t take effect til next month!

skippy

November 19, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Fellow readers: sharing a bit of the lesser reported news and local Occupy Haps archived in the Humboldt Sentinel column here has been a steady work in progress– with your comments and criticisms not only being appreciated, but sought after. Please give it a read, offering some valuable feedback if you’re inclined.

Plain Jane

November 19, 2011 at 2:25 pm

I really enjoy reading you, Skippy. Thanks.

skippy

November 19, 2011 at 5:25 pm

Thank you PJ, and especially for your (as usual) articulate and right-on-the-mark comments.

Gin Grinch

November 20, 2011 at 6:36 pm

“Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich proposed Friday evening that public school janitors be replaced by children in order to help solve the income gap in America.
“Gingrich, as usual, took many shots at the left during his speech at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
“’This is something that no liberal wants to deal with,’ Gingrich said, according to Politico. ‘Core policies of protecting unionization and bureaucratization against children in the poorest neighborhoods, crippling them by putting them in schools that fail has done more to create income inequality in the United States than any other single policy. It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid.’
“The new Republican presidential frontrunner then turned his attention to his bizarre proposal.
“’You say to somebody, you shouldn’t go to work before you’re what, 14, 16 years of age, fine. You’re totally poor,’ he said. ‘You’re in a school that is failing with a teacher that is failing. I’ve tried for years to have a very simple model,” he said. ‘Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they’d begin the process of rising.’”

Plain Jane

November 20, 2011 at 6:54 pm

Missouri has legislation in the pipeline to abolish child labor laws and allow them to work unlimited hours, even all night on school nights.

Plain Jane

November 21, 2011 at 7:00 am

A follow up on the “Big Lie” that the recession was caused by the government forcing banks to lend to poor people.

What should be obvious is that the “big lie” is just scapegoating the innocent to justify continuing the same policies which caused the great recession in the first place.

Roberto Commente

November 21, 2011 at 10:01 am

Boycott all of these stores. These greedy bastards are stealing a holiday from their employees!

“Toys “R” Us will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving night for the first time, the retailer announced last week. So will Macy, Kohl’s, Target, Best Buy, Gap and Banana Republic. Eighty percent of Old Navy stores will be open at midnight. ”

Isn’t the Gap owned by the family that owns a bunch or redwoods?

Plain Jane

November 21, 2011 at 10:11 am

I can’t imagine people who would answer the question, “What do you want to do on Thanksgiving?” with “Start my Christmas shopping!”

“Groupon demand almost finishes cupcake-maker
A businesswoman has accused Groupon of almost ruining her bakery company after she was forced to make 102,000 cupcakes at a loss when too many people took up her cut-price offer. ”

“She ended up losing between £2.50 and £3 on each batch she sold. She also had to pay £12,500 for the extra costs of hiring staff and sending the products out, wiping out profits for the year for her business. ”

“For who are the 0.1 percent? Very few of them are Steve Jobs-type innovators; most of them are corporate bigwigs and financial wheeler-dealers. One recent analysis found that 43 percent of the super-elite are executives at nonfinancial companies, 18 percent are in finance and another 12 percent are lawyers or in real estate. And these are not, to put it mildly, professions in which there is a clear relationship between someone’s income and his economic contribution.

Executive pay, which has skyrocketed over the past generation, is famously set by boards of directors appointed by the very people whose pay they determine; poorly performing C.E.O.’s still get lavish paychecks, and even failed and fired executives often receive millions as they go out the door.

Meanwhile, the economic crisis showed that much of the apparent value created by modern finance was a mirage. As the Bank of England’s director for financial stability recently put it, seemingly high returns before the crisis simply reflected increased risk-taking — risk that was mostly borne not by the wheeler-dealers themselves but either by naïve investors or by taxpayers, who ended up holding the bag when it all went wrong. And as he waspishly noted, “If risk-making were a value-adding activity, Russian roulette players would contribute disproportionately to global welfare.”

So should the 99.9 percent hate the 0.1 percent? No, not at all. But they should ignore all the propaganda about “job creators” and demand that the super-elite pay substantially more in taxes.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich proposed Friday evening that public school janitors be replaced by children in order to help solve the income gap in America.

Each school will have one Master Janitor.

Republicans are itching to return our nation to an economy of Masters and Slaves. This was just a slip of the tongue for good old Newt. Poor schoolkids are first in line for the Slave treatment, with the Former Middle Class right behind them.

I am posting this up because we have all heard for years the spin that California is over-regulated and over-taxed and businesses should relocate to libertarian republican paradises like Nevada. What does a libertarian republican shithole look like?

The State of Nevada has placed at the bottom of the nation, ranking 51st or last, on a groundbreaking new measure designed to indicate how effectively individuals living in a state can move up the economic ladders of society as compared to the rest of the country.

The measure, called the Opportunity Index, pulls together more than a dozen data points to rank every state by awarding a first of its kind Opportunity Score.

….snip….

NEVADA RANKS DEAD LAST IN NATION

Nevada landed in last place when compared to every other state and the District of Columbia, earning an Opportunity Score of 21.3 out of 100. The areas where Nevadans struggle include:

· Failing in Education: Only 28.5% of Nevada’s preschool-aged children are enrolled in school, and only 52% of high-school students graduate on time. Nevada scored the lowest in the nation in both of these categories. In addition, 11.2% of teenagers are neither in school, nor working, which is 3.2% higher than the national average.

· Health Care Shortage: Another significant data point that damaged Nevada’s opportunity score is in access to health care. Nevada received the second lowest score on this metric, at 86.7 primary care providers per 100,000 people.

· Violence Affects Families: The national average is 117.9 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 people. Nevada scores at 707.2 crimes per 100,000 people, reflecting the 2nd highest score in the country.

So why is Democratic Senator Levin (and Senator John McCain) pushing a likely unconstitutional provision in the defense budget to allow the military to arrest and hold any suspect indefinitely without trial, including US citizens in the US? To his credit, President Obama has said he would veto it if it is passed and he has the support of both the Pentagon and CIA for this veto.

A groundbreaking new study shows that laws legalizing medical marijuana have resulted in a nearly nine percent drop in traffic deaths and a five percent reduction in beer sales.

“Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” said Daniel Rees, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver who coauthored the study with D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University.

Daniel I. Rees, University of Colorado Denver: “Although we make no policy recommendations, it certainly appears as though medical marijuana laws are making our highways safer””We were astounded by how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana,” Rees said. “We looked into traffic fatalities because there is good data, and the data allow us to test whether alcohol was a factor.”

Anderson noted that traffic deaths are significant from a policy standpoint. “Traffic fatalities are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they represent the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to 34,” he said.

The economists analyzed traffic fatalities nationwide, including in the 13 states that legalized medical marijuana between 1990 and 2009. In those states, they found evidence that alcohol consumption by those between 20 and 29 years old went down — resulting in fewer deaths on the road.

to John Woolley Mark Lovelace Carol Van de Meer
How to destroy Coastal Act wetlands, CEQA
and dune-forest using ‘environmental money.
‘
Two of the basic purposes of CEQA are to inform governmental decisionmakers and the public about the potential significant effects, if any, of proposed activities and to provide opportunities for other agencies and the public to review and comment on draft environmental documents. The latter is crucial to the effectiveness of the former. Along these lines, CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines establish a number of specific points during the review and consideration of a project when the lead agency must inform other agencies and the public of the project and its potential environmental consequences.

Well after a decade of stripping the dunes in Manila, pouring millions of dollars into Wetland Habitat it is well past time to see results.
Instead our wetlands are about to implode, our lands where pulling occurred have drained,
people lied and many trees died. Mammals are gone, birds left long-ago. Wetlands have been replaced with desert.
Here is the ‘trick,’ have the owners be the Lead Agency, have the County turn its back,
load the local board with (faux friends) FODs and let the slaughter begin. Develop the most severe eradication possible, call it restoration, no one will question it.

Have the County close its eyes and set-up Supervisors who give not a damn, can not be bothered to even look. It helps to have neighbors that will lie and Manila has a lock on dishonesty, no short supply there- eh Ihara Fennell? “More trees now”
Extra credit for a local University to behave as a sell-out.

Who pays for the eventually required EIR? John W. why don’t you answer this one.

To Tra,
These are your words directed to OWS.
Please apply them to removing vegetation on our coastline.

“But if you can get beyond this strange hostility you seem to have toward the very idea of thoughtfulness, you might come to understand that being mindful of strategic considerations does not at all preclude innovation, improvisation and the like. Being thoughtful about the kind of efforts you make doesn’t make those efforts any less authentic or any less creative, it just make those efforts a lot more likely to pay off.” Tra

Tra, standing invite, come see results of your thoughtlessness.
Manila Overlook. And for gods sake expend some effort getting water back up there BEFORE it crumbles!

Plain Jane

December 8, 2011 at 11:49 am

Virginia Tech is on lock-down with an armed killer of 2, one a cop, running around the campus.

Heraldo…
There was a raid last night in Mckinleyville where they pulled a whole apartment complex out of their apartments and searched each one. Apparently it took the whole night to complete.

Might make for an interesting story. None of the other media has mentioned it. Not sure on the exact details, just that it took all night and they searched each one.

We Love This Economy!

December 15, 2011 at 8:53 am

“America’s top bosses enjoyed pay hikes of between 27 and 40% last year, according to the largest survey of US CEO pay. The dramatic bounceback comes as the latest government figures show wages for the majority of Americans are failing to keep up with inflation.”

“2010 was a great year to lose your job as a CEO. Four of the 10 highest paid CEOs were retired or departing executives. Ronald Williams, former head of Aetna, a health insurer, exercised 2.4m options for a profit of $50.4m. Aetna’s stock price declined by 70% from when Williams assumed the role of CEO in February 2006 until his retirement. At pharmacy chain CVS, Thomas Ryan made a $28m profit on his options. During Ryan’s 13-year tenure as CEO, CVS Caremark’s stock price decreased almost 54%.”

“Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay.

Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing. The legislation has also been strongly criticised by libertarians on the right angered at the stripping of individual rights for the duration of ‘a war that appears to have no end’.”

From the Guardian article linked above: “But another conservative senator, Rand Paul, a strong libertarian, has said “detaining citizens without a court trial is not American” and that if the law passes ‘the terrorists have won’.”

As of today, Rand Paul has won my vote against Barack Obama and the Democratic party, the President and party which allowed the last nail to be pounded into the coffin of American democracy.

I hope Mr. Obama waffles his way back from this latest pathetic capitulation, so I don’t have to vote for Mr. Paul, with whom I disagree on practically every issue of significance.

Walt

December 17, 2011 at 7:18 am

So “War is Over?” This from the congressional budget office:

“According to DOD, in Iraq, as of March 2011, there were 64,253 DOD contractor personnel in Iraq compared to 45,660 uniformed personnel in-country. Contractors made up 58% of DOD’s workforce in Iraq. Contractor and troop levels have decreased every quarter for the last nine quarters. DOD obligated approximately $15.4 billion on contracts in the Iraq theater in FY2010, representing 20% of total DOD obligations for the area. From FY2005-FY2010, DOD obligated approximately $112.1 billion on contracts for the Iraq theater of operations, representing 19% of total DOD obligations for the area.
A number of analysts have questioned the reliability of DOD’s contractor data. DOD officials have acknowledged data shortcomings and have stated that they are working to improve the
reliability and the type of data gathered.”

The war isn’t “over”, it’s just been privatized. It ain’t over til the mercenaries come home.

““I will remember Kim Jong Il by observing 90 minutes of silence while I watch ‘Team America: World Police’ this weekend,””

Indeed.

Anonymous

December 20, 2011 at 10:24 am

Give the gift of life, the letter in the paper says today.

But remember, if you are queer, they will throw your blood away.

Thanks to Saint Reagan, whose hatred for gays lives on and on,

The blood bank treats our blood as tainted, for bias lingers long.

Plain Jane

December 20, 2011 at 12:01 pm

Deep Pockets, Deeply Political

“A tiny number of wealthy Americans are playing an ever-increasing role in financing our politics. This is not a good thing for a democracy.”

“In the 2010 election cycle, 26,783 individuals (or slightly less than one in ten thousand Americans) each contributed more than $10,000 to federal political campaigns. Combined, these donors spent $774 million. That’s 24.3% of the total from individuals to politicians, parties, PACs, and independent expenditure groups. Together, they would fill only two-thirds of the 41,222 seats at Nationals Park, the baseball field two miles from the U.S. Capitol. When it comes to politics, they are “the one percent of the one percent.
The report also pointed out that “overwhelmingly, they are corporate executives, investors, lobbyists and lawyers” and that “a good number appear to be highly ideological.” In the 2010 election cycle, the report revealed, “the average one percent of one percenter spent $28,913, more than the median invdividual income of $26,364.”

But perhaps even more disturbing was this:

The community of donors giving more than $10,000 (in 2010 dollars) has more than quadrupled, from 6,456 in 1990 to 26,783 in 2010. In 1990, they accounted for 28.1% of all itemized (over $200) donations. By 2010, that number had risen to 44.1%. These donors are also accounting for an increasing number of all donations. And they’re giving more, too. In 1990, the average donation was $13,443. By 2010, it was more than double: $28,913.”

To get a quick sense of what 1% of 1% means, take a standard 2 liter soda bottle. Dip an eyedropper in and drop one drop from the eyedropper. That drop is 1/10,000 of the bottle’s contents, 1% of 1%.

Or: place a postage stamp on the floor of an 8×8 room. That postage stamp is taking up 1% of 1% of the floor.

Or: count to seven. That took you 1% of 1% of a 24 hour day.

Any way you look at it, the people who really control US politics are a small proportion of the US population.

(Experimental drops are 5 to a milliliter. I realize that’s not the official value used in terminology.)

walt

December 23, 2011 at 3:34 pm

This from the Beeb: “Rowdy scenes have broken out at stores across the US as shoppers jostled to lay their hands on Nike’s new shoe.
There was disorder from California to Georgia as shoppers vied to buy a retro version of a classic Air Jordan model.
A new pair costs about $180 (£115), but they are already being listed on eBay for as much as $605.
The ugly scenes recalled the violence that broke out in the early 1990s on streets across America as the shoes became popular targets for thieves.
In the early hours of Friday, police used pepper spray on about 20 customers who started fighting at a mall in suburban Seattle, Washington state, as they waited in line to buy the black-and-white Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords.
One man was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer.

In other disturbances:

At least four people were arrested after customers broke down a door at a store selling the shoes in Lithonia, Georgia
There was an attempted robbery on a victim who was mistakenly believed to have just bought the shoes in Stockton, California
About 100 shoppers forced their way into a shopping centre in Taylor, Michigan
A gunshot rang out as shoppers queued in Richmond, California, although no injures were reported
Disorder were also reported in Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Omaha, Nebraska
A spokesperson for Nike was not immediately available to comment.
The original Air Jordan created a subculture of collectors who rarely wore the sneaker but were willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair.”

Ever feel like this country DESERVES Gingrich and Palin?

tra

December 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm

The country as a whole? No. But from time to time I do find myself wishing that there was some uninhabited island where the Gingrinchians and Palinistas could all go and try their hand at living in an actual Gingrich/Palin-led economy and society… and then see how they like the results. It would be like Lord of the Flies on steroids.

Unfortunately, plenty of these unfortunate people have children, who would suffer greatly in a collapsing Palingrichian dystopia. And I imagine the flora and fauna of the poor island would probably not make out too well either. So there’s that to think about. Not to mention the shortage of large, uninhabited islands.

Anonymous

December 23, 2011 at 4:58 pm

Deserve It!! Not only that but it’s our punishment for thinking that material objects is what the Winter Solstice is all about..one day we will be swrilling around theGreat Pacific Garbage Patch (or the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch!) with all of our possessions!

Plain Jane

December 24, 2011 at 6:06 am

The Big Lie by Joe Nocera (that Fannie and Freddie caused the housing crisis – the hows and whys big lies are created)

If this is a given, it would be reasonable to conclude that if you remove the Ammophila-
you remove the fore dune.

That is what is happening, unfolding now.

Without our fore dune complex the deflation plane (trough) landward of the fore dune
(fresh-water marsh, Coastal Act) is no longer protected from salt-water intrusion, we lose;
our littoral marsh (highly treasured and protected)-We lose Base Flood Elevation we lose FEMA insurance on our water-main, we lose miles of wetland habitat, we violate Pacific Flyway and lose
all the flora and fauna associated
with fresh-water wetlands-refer to Lanphere V-Zone.
We have triggered this post Katrina/Fukushima!

My question is, was this actually part of the plan?
Love to see that called-out somewhere.

I see change coming, can’t be too fast. Tra, isn’t it time to start planting and securing the fore dune in Manila?

I would like to suggest that the new Westside Community Center be designated as a polling place for the round of elections coming up this year.

The Westside needs an addtional polling place. The Wharfinger is nice especially for those who own and drive cars but those who must walk or ride the bus in order to vote find the Wharfinger’s location to be quite inconvient.

You know I am not against the use of boycotts when appropriate but in this instance what is the sense of boycotting one local business and counterboycotting another local business when Wal Mart is coming to town? Wal Mart will be in some competition with both of these businesses.

We might as well just say welcome Wal Mart.

Maybe we can call a truce on this one.

have a peaceful day,
Bill

Plain Jane

January 20, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Highway 101 N of Brookings has a massive collapse. From the picture I saw, it looks like most of the entire roadway dropped into the ocean!

Plain Jane

January 20, 2012 at 12:22 pm

Sorry, my information was incorrect. Lost Coast has a little info, apparently it was 255 near Brookings.

Plain Jane

January 20, 2012 at 12:24 pm

It’s the old Highway 101, apparently.

Anonymous

January 23, 2012 at 11:53 am

The picture of Rex Bohn greeting that huge crowd of people at his campaign kick-off sent cold shivers down my spine. He is the guy who wanted to put Eureka in the path of firey disaster with the LNG plant – and these people want to give him MORE power?

I thought I’d share this one with the Herald: General Smedley Butler, the most decorated US Marine in history (until his death in 1940 — 16 medals, five for heroism, two Congressional Medals of Honor) and author of the book “War is a Racket.”

Look him up. He was a fan of the Bonus marchers (look them up) and he had the idea that the war racket continues because war makes profits for the wealthiest capitalists, but never takes them as its victims. In 1935, he proposed:

1) We must take the profit out of war. (“Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories… as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted — to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.” )

2) We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war.

3) We must limit our military forces to home defense purposes.

It’s amazing how such opinions, coming from such high authorities, are unknown in the land of free speech, isn’t it? Quick! Who’s Glenn Beck?

walt

January 29, 2012 at 9:29 am

Wasn’t he an astronaut?

Plain Jane

January 29, 2012 at 9:29 am

General Butler also testified before Congress about being recruited by wealthy industrialists to lead a coup against Roosevelt, Mitch.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 9:43 am

But PJ, the New York Times explained the allegation of a coup was a “gigantic hoax,” and the Congressional committee investigating it was, if a may use HiFi-esque terminology, “silly.”

See, it was just fiction… Despite the determination of the Congressional committee, and despite the allegation by the most decorated marine in history that he’d been personally recruited to lead it.

It’s exactly the same sort of fiction that Occupy is spouting now, claiming that the government has been essentially taken over by the wealthiest. Just listen to the free media — Occupy supporters are just a bunch of uninformed vandals.

Plain Jane

January 29, 2012 at 9:50 am

I agree, Mitch. We just don’t get the humor of the ultra rich.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 9:53 am

If anyone’s not sure, my 9:23 was an attempt at sarcasm.

I wonder if there’s any way that we could help bring General Butler’s contributions to public (not university student) awareness.

It seems like a huge missing chapter from our high school history? Is it? Does anyone know if it’s actually taught in current California curriculum? Seems a ton more relevant than much of what I was taught (back in the 70s) about the 30s.

walt

January 29, 2012 at 9:55 am

Spot on again, Mitch! Looking up Butler on Wikipedia, this man’s amazing history including fighting in the “Banana Wars” in Latin America. . .to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company. The same happened when the US supported a “revolution” in Guatamala in 1954, pushed by CIA director Alan Dulles in support of the company he had headed. . .the United Fruit Company.

Plus ca change. . .

Plain Jane

January 29, 2012 at 10:07 am

Not until college did I even hear about WWI veterans’ “Bonus March,” Mitch, but even then there was no mention of Butler or the coup conspiracy. When I asked my parents and grandparents about it, they had never heard of it either and were outraged at the “nonsense” I was being fed about the hero MacArthur attacking American veterans. The more things change, the more they stay the same for people who choose to remain ignorant.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 10:39 am

Here’s a BBC Radio report from 2007 about the plot to overthrow FDR. Absolutely amazing. Listen for yourselves.

After the congressional committee released its report, Gen. Butler publicly complained that the report had censored the names he’d brought to the committee. The people Butler charged were never brought before the committee to testify. (Listen at about 22:30-24:00.)

If a more balanced view of American history were taught in elementary and high schools, young people would be less willing to martyr themselves in war for the likes of the Bush Family and the rest of the 1%.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 12:56 pm

Gen. Butler, on the radio after the committee releases a report without any of the names of the wealthy pro-fascist conspirators:

“Like most committees, it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren’t even called to testify. Why wasn’t Colonel Murphy MP Gracy called? Why wasn’t Al Smith called? And why wasn’t General Douglas Macarthur, chief of staff of the Army called?”

The documentary continues by pointing out that the person who had acted as intermediary between Butler and the wealthy bankers like duPont and JP Morgan died of natural causes one month later at the age of 37.

This is utterly fascinating stuff, and it’s truly amazing to me that, if I’ve encountered it before, I’ve forgotten about it.

The plotters apparently wanted to put in a new cabinet position to replace Sec. of State, Secretary of General Affairs, make it the policy-setting position, put their own man in it, and have Roosevelt become ceremonial.

A cynic might suggest that, thirty or fifty years later, they realized they could just run their man for Vice President and put an amiable and easily-cowed dunce in as President. No need for a coup at all.

But what sort of President might be just a front-man? Certainly not Reagan, whose VP, George HW Bush was the grandson of one of the pro-fascist industrialists. Certainly not Dubya, whose self-selected VP was his father’s defense secretary, Dick Cheney.

No, both of those Presidents were great intellects and huge successes prior to achieving the Presidency — they surely got in purely on their own brilliance, courage and wisdom, not to mention their successful military service.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 1:27 pm

Late July will be the 80th anniversary of two important events: Butler’s speech to the Bonus Marchers and Gen. Macarthur’s violent disruption of their veteran’s encampment.

I believe the Butler speech was on July 27th, 1932. Here’s what he had to say, published in the VFW’s magazine in 1933 — he was using “one percent” language even then.

“We are divided, in America, into two classes: The Tories on one side, a class of citizens who were raised to believe that the whole of this country was created for their sole benefit, and on the other side, the other 99 per cent of us, the soldier class, the class from which all of you soldiers came. That class hasn’t any privileges except to die when the Tories tell them. Every war that we have ever had was gotten, up by that class. They do all the beating of the drums. Away the rest of us go. When we leave, you know what happens. We march down the street with all the Sears-Roebuck soldiers standing on the sidewalk, all the dollar-a-year men with spurs, all the patriots who call themselves patriots, square-legged women in uniforms making Liberty Loan speeches. They promise you. You go down the street and they ring all the church bells. Promise you the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth,—anything to save them. Off you go. Then the looting commences while you are doing the fighting. This last war made over 6,000 millionaires. Today those fellows won’t help pay the bill.”

Plain Jane

January 29, 2012 at 1:34 pm

That’s the great thing about truth, Mitch, it’s timeless. The descendants of those fascists own our government as surely as they would if the coup had proceeded and they stole it, but we would at least know who our rulers really are.

Mitch

January 29, 2012 at 2:22 pm

Butler is hidden in plain sight. Here’s a quote from him from 1937, after an incident (probably the sinking of the USS Panay in China’s Yangtze River) in which sailors died when Japanese attacked an oil company convoy:

“Why don’t those damned oil companies fly their own flags on their personal property- maybe a flag with a gas pump on it.”

And here’s an online copy of a book by Jules Archer about the fascist plot to seize control from FDR.

I just read an article about a new collection of the works of Ambrose Bierce, famed for his book entitled “The Devil’s Dictionary.” The article appeared in the October 2011 edition of The Atlantic magazine.

The article offers a brief biography of this American cynic, explaining his early idealism, his joining the Union Army at the outset of the Civil War, and his subsequent reaction to the utter horror of war.

He and Smedley Butler could have had an amazing conversation if they had ever met.

Any word from the Health Dept or anyone about this sickness that’s going around? Myself, my family, friends, co-workers and students are all dropping like flies.

It starts with about 4 days of headache and low energy then morphs into a bad head cold with severe sore throat, fever, body aches and fatigue, then moves to the chest to become a heavy cough.

Infrastructure at both my jobs is getting a little unstable because of key people being out sick for several days. If that’s happening in other organizations, then it’s surely newsworthy. Though… what can be done about a virus?

Anonymous

February 12, 2012 at 1:27 pm

The fundraiser for Senior Resource Home Delivered Meals, Murder Mystery was a blast. Truman Capote was there, the Pink Panther, Audry Hepburn, Margaret Thatcher, Quasimoto and Esmerelda, Bogy and Bacal, and Lisa Lampinelli oh wait that was Betsy Lambert.

Plain Jane

February 13, 2012 at 1:16 pm

That was a 5.3, 29 miles inland from Trinidad.

grackle

February 14, 2012 at 10:52 pm

I hear there is a Lowe’s going in at the mall. Is there a large enough space? Word came from a worker sub-contracting work at one of the chains. Reliable? I don’t know.

Mitch

February 15, 2012 at 7:42 am

New expose on climate change deniers:

Next up, we learn that Heartland paid a team of writers $388,000 in 2011 to write a series of reports “to undermine the official United Nation’s IPCC reports”. Not critique, challenge, or analyse the IPCC’s reports, but “to undermine” them. The agenda and pre-ordained outcome is clear and there for all to see.

Efforts at places such as Forbes are especially important now that they have begun to allow highprofile climate scientists (such as Gleick) to post warmist science essays that counter our own. This influential audience has usually been reliably anti-climate and it is important to keep opposing voices out.

Mann, like other scientists, was just not equipped to deal with the media barrage. “It took the scientific community some time I think to realise that the scientific community is in a street fight with climate change deniers and they are not playing by the rules of engagement of science. The scientific community needed some time to wake up to that.”

Odd that we would have a read about this in a British paper. Guess we don’t have any papers in this country. . .maybe we should import one. “Heartland had received $14m over several years from a single anonymous donor. . .” or maybe two “anonymous” brothers. . .
The disinformation industry. . .is this a great country or what?

I’m just seeing your WP link and wondering whether the Ezra Klein blog is also carried in the printed paper. I find the Guardian consistently covers things that are either ignored or “tut tutted” in the US papers.

Anonymous

February 29, 2012 at 6:57 pm

Have I got this right? Google stole my personal information from my YouTube account and is just now telling me I have to jump through hoops to protect my privacy from Google’s outreaching claws? Damn the 1% to Hell!

walt

February 29, 2012 at 8:07 pm

You’re for sale, slave. Get over it.

Anonymous

February 29, 2012 at 9:22 pm

Come a little closer, walt. I’d like to strangle you with my chains.

Omnomnonimous

March 2, 2012 at 9:05 am

I’m really surprised that none of the local blogs are paying all that much attention to the Yurok embezzlement case. I thought for sure this week’s North Coast Journal would dive in but they didn’t even mention it (that I’ve seen – I haven’t read the whole paper yet but I did flip through it last night and didn’t find anything)..

Aside from the fact that it’s a huge amount of money and there are some astonishing allegations against respected members of the community, there are a few other huge elements to the case that I’ve barely seen discussed if at all.

1) Former tribal employee Roland Raymond was clearly at the center of the whole thing and is still on the run. LeValley and McAllister both immediately turned themselves in.

2) Last weekend the Sacramento Bee did a long and comprehensive article about Del Norte DA Jon Alexander. It does not paint a pretty picture and could almost be viewed as a hit piece. Anybody who for whatever reason doesn’t like any of the three people at the center of the embezzlement scandal might think it was a hit piece timed to discredit the DA, but to me it looks like a detailed enough story that there’s no way it was thrown together so quickly. Somebody had probably already been working on it for a while and the timing was coincidental – unless for some reason they’d been sitting on it waiting for the right time to bury him?

3) LeValley was (or still is?) co-chair of the science advisory team (SAT) for the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (MPLAI), which is pretty controversial and has some very vocal opponents, mostly commercial and sport fishermen. At one point there was at least a contingent of the Yurok who were very vocally opposed too, although they may have gotten concessions they were demanding so it’s not clear to me what their position is currently.

4) Two very vocal opponents of the MPLA are David Gurney and Dan Bacher. Gurney publishes the Noyo News blog and has seized every opportunity to lambast the entire MPLA process and Ron LeValley personally. He passes himself off as a citizen journalist and is not actually a very bad writer, although he laces his material with just enough inflammatory invective to make it difficult to see anything but a blatant bias. He claims alliance with the enviro community and paints it as a corrupt exercise in corporate greenwashing but it’s not at all clear to me whether that’s true. I haven’t paid that much attention to MPLA – I knew it was controversial but are even half of his allegations about it accurate? Very hard to tell since I don’t see anything coming from the enviro community to substantiate such claims. Virtually everything negative you can find regarding LeValley was written by either Gurney or Bacher.

5) Gurney makes a big deal about the blue whale that was killed off the Mendo coast a couple years ago after evidently being hit by a vessel that was under contract to NOAA doing surveys for the MPLA. He accuses LeValley of masterminding a coverup in that case.

6) The Noyo News notwithstanding, Mad River Biologists has long represented the standard for scientific consultancy in this region and LeValley and McAllister have a lot of people in their corner. According to the Times-Standard this morning, over 30 people showed up at the Del Norte courthouse yesterday for their bail review hearing yesterday, and the judge received more than 65 letters of support.

7) Details from the case show that the allegedly false invoices at the center of the case appear to be forgeries or otherwise inconsistent with the standard invoices issued by Mad River Biologists, and they were all hand delivered to accounts payable by Roland Raymond, with a request that the checks be cut immediately and given to him for delivery.

8) The paper trail after that appears to involve both LeValley and McAllister and that is where the story really makes the brow wrinkle for anybody who doesn’t want to believe they could actually be guilty, but so much of the story up to that point makes it clear that Raymond was out of control that you have to wonder if maybe he somehow managed to establish false accounts in the names of these other guys or something?

I hope this is one of the biggest cases of the year – and by that I just mean I hope we don’t have a lot more drama to come. Even if we do though, this should still be a big one…shouldn’t it? There’s a helluva lot of money involved and the reputations of two of the most prominent people in one of the most important fields locally are either guilty as hell or else the victims of one of the most amazing frame jobs imaginable. There could well be reason to call into question the credibility of the DA trying the case. The tribe against which the crime was committed has had a very public row over a different issue with the people they now accuse of ripping them off. Anybody familiar with standard accounting practices has to ask how in the hell so many red flags could have been ignored for such a long time to begin with.

I don’t know either LeValley or McAllister but I really hope it turns out that Raymond is just a really creative scammer with both drug and gambling problems, and these two guys just got dragged into his vortex as sometimes does happen. But I’ve read the entire search warrant affidavit and if everything in it is accurate then it does not look good for them. Then again, if you can believe everything said about the DA, and if you might be inclined to believe even the tribe isn’t above a bit of chicanery where they might possibly have a conflict of interest, who the hell knows?

Either way, I’m very curious and want to know more. I’m very interested in the opinions of people who have known and worked with Mad River Biologists as well as the Yurok tribe. I’d like to see this thread gets a lot more attention and discussion in the weeks to come.

Hi, issues with the “Gravatar”. WordPress allows me to “Change my Gravatar.” and then goes back to blank when I go to your page. I think it’s sticking this time. But anyway heads-up.
it seems to be working now though..

Are these right wingers pretending they don’t get it because they think their viewers are complete idiots, or are they truly so irrational that they don’t get it? Is it possible for so many irrational people to get it so wrong in exactly the same way?

Jeff shows us the effectiveness of EPICs propaganda campaign. Show the public posters of Old Growth and spotted owls for a year with slogans claiming it is going to be “Destroyed!” and come to find people believe its going to be Destroyed!!!

Frankly, Im starting to think they are about to cut down all the trees in the park for the HWY too….who do I send my money to?

walt

March 14, 2012 at 5:55 am

This is why we need Wikileaks, and why those in power have, among other crimes, convened a secret grand jury to indict Julian Assange and torture Bradley Manning before he was even charged with a crime. The fraud being perpetrated by the banks, and aided and abetted by OUR elected officials, and even local real estate firms, is breathtaking. Ever heard of MERS?

I saw Congress, the wheels that move the lowest perversion of
America’s Constitutional system that the worst tools could create.

Despicable trickery at elections; under-handed tampering with
public officers; cowardly attacks upon opponents, with scurrilous
newspapers for shields, and hired pens as knives; shameful
surrender to paid liars, whose claim to be considered, is,
that every day and week they bribe the Congress, which responds by sowing new crops of ruin… supporting and encouraging every bad idea in the public and cleverly suppressing all its good influences: such things as these, and in a word, self-centered liars in their most blunt form, stared out from every corner of the crowded hall.

The original is here. It’s Charles Dickens, 1842, American Notes, a description of his travels in America. I updated some language to limit the way in which the original text dates itself, but did not change the meaning at all:

Caltrans spokesman Scott Burger said the agency believes Vadas’ findings are consistent with Caltrans’ stance that it properly surveyed, mapped and measured the trees in and around the project area. He said the omitted tree had been previously analyzed.

”The omitted tree was discussed with state parks and noted in subsequent design files,” he said, reading from a prepared statement. “These particular maps were not recreated, as they were used for illustrative purposes in the environmental process, and the mapping of this one tree, out of the 1,750 (studied), would not have affected the conclusion that the project would not adversely impact this tree or other trees in the vicinity since the area was already studied.”

and of EPICs further ridiculous technicality driven case over how trees are mapped?:

”Parties dispute the location of the fourth and sixth trees viewed,” Vadas wrote in his report. In both instances, he said the trees appear to be in the locations that Caltrans had mapped.

LOS ANGELES — A Santa Barbara church said Friday it regrets holding a weekend youth retreat that included teenaged boys chasing down grease-covered pigs before eating them in a luau-style barbecue.

The boys are part of the high school ministry at Reality Santa Barbara and many of them dressed up and wore face and body paint for what the executive pastor called a rodeo-style event at an Ojai ranch.

One of two candidates for student body president at California State University San Marcos has been arrested on several charges, including election fraud, officials said.

Matt Weaver, a junior business administration major, was arrested Thursday evening in a campus computer lab, said Margaret Lutz, a CSUSM spokeswoman.

Campus police found him “to be in possession of several devices that can be used illegally to capture the keystrokes of persons entering their IDs and passwords onto computers without their knowledge,” Lutz said.

Weaver was arrested on suspicion of unlawful access to a computer or database, identity theft and election fraud – all felonies. He was booked into the Vista jail and bailed out about 4 a.m. Friday, said university police Lt. Bob McManus

Sunny

March 19, 2012 at 9:13 am

Currently featured (above the fold!) on the front page of the New York Times:

…when economic inequality increases, the people who have become economically more powerful will often attempt to use that power in order to gain even more political power. And once they are able to monopolize political power, they will start using that for changing the rules in their favor. And that sort of political inequality is the real danger that’s facing the United States.

The word scandal doesn’t really do it justice. The level of political corruption, lies and vicious thuggery are shocking even to one who already knew how corrupt and deceitful Murdoch’s empire is.

Bolithio

March 28, 2012 at 10:47 am

Lets change the name of Quick Notes to “Fucked-up Depressing Links”

Plain Jane

March 28, 2012 at 11:29 am

For some good news, the tsunami warning test today is impressive. The plane flying around with siren and info was a surprise.

Anonymous

March 28, 2012 at 10:57 pm

Hey Arcata! For a fun read with main characters in centered in Arcata and McKinleyville try the
Book: God Shuffled His Feet a Novel
Author:Mark Ellenbogen
Three Humboldt Astronomy students save the world!!
Lots of humor, plus a message too boot.
Amazon and Barnes and Noble e-books available at their websites.

And, as usual, the UK-based newspaper The Guardian puts the US media to shame, showing how easy it is to present the facts related to carbon emissions in an understandable way, when that’s your goal and you have a competent staff.

I’m very surprised by Tyson’s statistic about NIH funding but, given the source, I expect he’s correct.

There’s more to the way Washington treats science, though, than budgeting. And the Republican Party has gone out of its way, in its pandering to fundamentalist and fossil fuel constituencies, to delegitimize the entire idea that we can work together to develop a set of agreed-upon facts and come to a consensus explanation of those facts.

In this, the nutcase wing of the Republican Party and science-averse left wing literary theorists have the same project.

Lita

March 30, 2012 at 9:12 am

Please call your local Eureka & Humboldt Schools and demand that they take PINK SLIME out of our children’s lunches!

Bolithio

March 30, 2012 at 9:18 am

Mitch, I guess in my view, its not simply the GOP who panders to the anti-science groups referenced in your previous link, but a faction of them. Not like that fact changes my impression of the party, lol. But I guess it serves to remind us that its never as simple as it seems.

Oh, and Tyson is my hero!

OUTLAW1

March 30, 2012 at 1:44 pm

whats wrong with pink slim?

06em

March 30, 2012 at 4:29 pm

If you shop at Safeway in Eureka, there is an easy way to be a local job creator … or at least a local job saver. Don’t use the self-checkout. Every self-serve gas pump, every menu-driven phone system, every cash-dispensing atm, every self-check cash register is a former American job.

OUTLAW1

March 30, 2012 at 8:01 pm

that is true 06em. oregon does not let people pump there own gas

OUTLAW1

March 30, 2012 at 8:03 pm

ok why dont we talk about what there doing to dotti harris down in phillipsville. she dont diserve what the county doing to her. all she done was help people

Anonymous

March 31, 2012 at 12:47 am

I can’t find a single local movie theater that is showing “Bullying” – the anti-bullying movie.

Now I hear that Congress is stuck and can’t pass a school safety act to protect school kids from bullying.

Since this blog is placing an ad for Cheryl and it does not have the required “paid for by” then it is a donation by the “owners” of this blog and is reportable as a campaign donation. Ads of this size are clearly worth over $100, so the name, address, and occupation of the donor is required. If it is paid for, then the campaign must disclose who received the money.
I believe this is an important issue since this and other blogs use their space to try to influence elections, and are required, just as other media are, to disclose donations and campaigns must disclose payments. Since the object of this blog is to be anonymous, then should it be overtly campaingning?
I will be asking the FPPC to rule on this. Should be interesting.

Smart 5th Grader

April 7, 2012 at 1:06 pm

Marian, I mean JMC, chill out. It´s not enough to have all the Overloads dumping their cash into the campaigns of their puppets and own the Sub-Standard, now you want to hassle the blogs which never accept a single cent from anyone? You have some serious issues.

just middle class

April 7, 2012 at 6:04 pm

Missed the issue did you not!

Smart 5th Grader

April 7, 2012 at 6:38 pm

That you are a hater? No, gotcha loud and clear.

just middle class

April 9, 2012 at 7:31 am

5th Grader, So hate is defined as having a level playing field. You seem to say that since the bogs do not charge, then they do not have to report? Are you aware of in-kind donations? If I donate a $1000 item or $1000 worth of services, then that must be reported. The placement of the ads on this and other blogs have value and that is reportable by name, address, and occupation if it is equal to $100 or more. That is also reportable when the total reaches that level, so if you do $10 at a time, it is reportable when the total reaches $100 or more.
Now if this were a conservative blog, I feel you would not be making the same opinions.

Smart 5th Grader

April 9, 2012 at 7:44 am

$100 or $1,000? Make up your mind. So much hate you can´t think straight.

Why don’t you just go and post your own ad on your own blog and leave the rest of us alone on this blog.

just middle class

April 9, 2012 at 7:54 am

So, If you break the law, then I should break the law also. Somehow this two wrongs don’t make a right thing comes to mind.

just middle class

April 9, 2012 at 7:56 am

So, 5th, I do not see what hate has to do with this discussion. If I state an opinion that you do not agree with, then it is hate? So if I do not agree with the Occupier folks, I call their activiies hate? Seem silly to me.

Smart 5th Grader

April 9, 2012 at 2:38 pm

Marian. You are slaughtering the English language. Out of respect for the Bill of Rights, I will defend your right to do. Even if it is in front of the Courthouse.

just middle class

April 9, 2012 at 5:33 pm

Well, I do not mind you calling me Marian, but that is not my name, but go ahead if it makes you feel good.

Not A Native

April 10, 2012 at 2:11 pm

EAT YOUR NASTY EVIL HEART OUT Hi Fi, same to you Brady Bunch !!!

Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program Round Two Awards

Westside Community Improvement Assoc. Jefferson Park and Community Center

$3,305,560

Create the new Jefferson Park and Community Center in the City of Eureka through the acquisition and development of a 2 acre parcel. Construct a playground, community garden, walking paths, basketball court, bocce courts, open space and landscaping, restrooms and parking. Renovate existing buildings into a community library, multi-purpose room, infant/toddler center, community recreation room, kitchen and restroom.

What Now

April 10, 2012 at 2:32 pm

Excellent news, NaN, @ 2:11!

Fact Checker

April 11, 2012 at 7:18 am

Heraldo. The choice is a struggle at times. Either ignore the morons who repeat the same lies (ascertations based not in fact, but by fear or ultterior motive) – or – rebut them with fact and logic. The former can keep the myths alive, the latter can be exhausting.

Peter Douglas, the director of the California Coastal Commission from 1985 to 2011, said the coast is never saved; it’s always being saved. That’s because bad projects rarely go away for good.

On Tuesday, one of those bad projects that should go away forever is being brought back by the Eureka City Council, which will vote on restarting the Waterfront Drive Extension project—a proposal to punch a new road through the Palco Marsh from Del Norte Street to Truesdale.

The Coastal Commission has gone on record saying the project cannot be approved because it is not consistent with either the Coastal Act or the City of Eureka’s own Local Coastal Program, which governs coastal development in the city.

In 2005, Peter Douglas wrote to the City, “Because this project cannot, in our view, be approved consistent with the Coastal Act, we respectfully urge the city not to expend any additional public resources in pursuit of it.”

How much more taxpayer money is the City going to waste on this project? The City has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars—mostly state funding—on the EIR process over the past 10+ years, without any final product that would be consistent with state law.

The project would also destroy what progress has been made on restoring Palco Marsh and planning for the restoration of Parcel 4 behind the Bayshore Mall—restoration projects that have been funded with taxpayer dollars from the Coastal Conservancy and other agencies.

This proposal would impact coastal wetlands, important bird habitat, rare plants, water quality, cultural resources, and public open space. It would violate the City’s own General Plan, which vows to protect environmentally sensitive habitat areas as required by the Coastal Act.

It’s time to give up the Waterfront Drive Extension, just as the Eureka Freeway Bypass was abandoned in 1995.

Let the Eureka City Council know how you feel about 4000-8000 vehicles driving through a wildlife sanctuary every day!

Tuesday, April 17, at 6 pm in the Eureka Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Eureka City Hall at 531 “K” Street, Eureka

Yes, PJ. And the next time there’s a cooler than typical week, the polls will change.

And the people who are noticing climate change will take immediate action, demanding that gas prices be brought down by increased whatever-Obama-supposedly-won’t-do.

If it gets real bad, some TV preacher will begin drawing crowds for praire sessions, and warn people how Jeeeeeeeeezus is unhappy with America’s acceptance of fags, immigrants, Jews, and Mooslims.

And academia will come up with high-tech cow diapers to enable the recycling of cow farts, and lots’o’people will get tenure.

It really amazes me that today’s high school students haven’t started killing everyone over 25 years old. More and more, that seems like the only appropriate response to what’s been done.

Plain Jane

April 18, 2012 at 11:44 am

At least at this point, Mitch, they seem to be grasping the idea that climate change means weather extremes of both hot and cold, although maybe not what is causing it. But it’s a start.

RefFan

April 18, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Plain Jane, did you read that poll; 1,008 American adults, aged 18 and older were involved; not a majority of Americans.

Plain Jane

April 18, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Relfan, do you have a clue how polls are done? Has there ever been a poll of a majority of Americans? Hell, a majority doesn’t even vote in our elections. I’m betting you are one of the minority who thinks Climate Change is a hoax because your local weather seems pretty much like always. What a tool.

RefFan

April 18, 2012 at 4:20 pm

Name calling is a normal thing for you isnt it. Cant you be civil for once. It was a simple question. Have you taken a socialology course and learn about polls & surveys and their biased stats? You said it yourself that that poll showed that a large majority of Americans believe the current weather conditions were made worse by global warming. I’ll say it again, 1008 ppl from that survey is not a majority. Climate change is a normal occurence. Of course we humans are contributing bad things to the atmosphere but the weather is going to change over time, if you want to call it global warming, fine, but this shit about people being the main cause of it is just that, shit.

Mitch

April 21, 2012 at 9:09 am

From the “I wish I’d thought of this” file. This is just too clever for words.

Your savior is Jesus. I’m sorry if I came across as insulting towards him or your beliefs. I have enormous respect for Jesus.

Jeeeeeeezus is a fiction believed in by people I consider to be basically insane. They follow a religion that is called “Christianity,” which causes some confusion due to the ease with which this is mixed up with the religion called Christianity.

Christianity respects the things Jesus taught. (In addition, it considers him part of a trinity which makes up God.) “Christianity” completely ignores Jesus, and instead worships tithing, televangelists, guns, wars, controlled heterosexuality, blastulas, and things like “macho football Jesus.” “Christianity” is the national faith of the United States.

Again, I apologize if you are a Christian and believer in Jesus.

Bolithio

April 26, 2012 at 8:18 am

Mitch, my favorite band wrote a song about “Christianity”:

Mitch

April 26, 2012 at 8:33 am

Never heard them before. Blew me away. THANKS!

Excerpt from the lyrics:

he’s the farmers barren fields
the force the army wields
the expession in the faces
of the starving children
the power of the man
he’s the fuel that drives the clan
he’s the motive and conscience
of the murderer
he’s the preacher on t.v.
the false sincerity
the form letter that’s written
by the big computers
he’s the nuclear bombs
and the kids with no moms
and i’m fearful that
he’s inside me

Mitch

April 26, 2012 at 8:49 am

“the false sincerity
the form letter that’s written
by the big computers”

I remember when I was growing up, maybe in fourth or fifth grade, the local supermarket began putting up the cigarette company logos on their doors — little 6 x 8 inch signs saying “Thank you for shopping here. –KOOL” Even then, I thought it was hysterical that either a cigarette company I’d never met or a 6 x 8 inch decal was “thanking me,” when there were real employees of the store just feet away.

Little did I know it was the new paradigm poking its little horns into our shared reality.

Stacy Lawson certainly DOES have some “pull!”
Her ad just re-empted the President’s opening remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on CNN, via Suddenlink!

Anonymous

April 28, 2012 at 7:43 pm

It was a slam-dunk for Jimmy Kimmel. He told it like it is. You owe it to yourself to see his remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. You’ll find more honesty in his speech than you’ve heard all year from all the “politicians and pundits” in that room with him tonight.

Climate change “skeptic” Dr. Richard Lindzen says people who deny anthropomorphic climate change are “nutty.” He thinks clouds are going to mitigate warming even though the vast majority of climate scientists say his research is flawed and he admits he made “stupid mistakes,” but not to worry…

“If I’m right, we’ll have saved money” by avoiding measures to limit emissions, Dr. Lindzen said in the interview. “If I’m wrong, we’ll know it in 50 years and can do something.”

“But mainstream scientists counter that society’s impulse to wait only heightens the risks.”

Back off, WhatNow. Stalin’s victims were imprisoned for no reason at all, then worked to death, or summarily shot. No comparison to the prisons of today, with TVs, endless appeals and cellphones in the bargain.

Mitch

May 4, 2012 at 8:27 am

It’s the anniversary of the May 4th Kent State massacre, and Kym Kemp has posted a moving letter at the Lost Coast Outpost from the parent of a murdered student:

On Thursday May 3rd Lady, a service dog was shot between Northwestern Avenue and the Redwood Highway north of the Eel River with a 9mm pistol; Lady fled in a north-eastern direction and may have moved many miles by now, hiding wounded, stunned & shocked, or wandered onto someone’s property by now. At the time of the shooting, she was not wearing any markings and was uncollared. During the search searchers reported drops of blood; Lady may have received a wound either to her head, shoulder or front paw, one round was the discharged.

Lady is multi-lingual and will respond to, “Lady, come here”, “Blanca, vien ichi”, and to other tongues. She looks a lot like Pete from the Little Rascals, except for no black spot around the eye. When interacting with her feel free to use words like please, por favor or merci; Lady understands polite expressions very well.

Help/suggestions are greatly appreciated; Please contact Lady’s keeeper through the forum threads below by posting here if you have help, suggestions, questions or if you meet her, thanks.

THE REPUBLICAN Party is “CleansingI ”
Does my Democratic Party plan to get rid of th Blue Dogs
f being Fiscal ‰esponsible.Do want to permit Divide and Conquer? Who is nextx for he Republicans–after Lugar?Dissent–
Compromise is still legitamate–NOW

‘“Poor Americans are urged to hate themselves,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote in “Slaughterhouse-Five.” And so, “they mock themselves and glorify their betters.” Our most destructive lie, he added, “is that it is very easy for any American to make money.” The lie goes on. The poor are lazy, stupid and evil. The rich are brilliant, courageous and good. They shower their beneficence upon the rest of us.’

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eurekaworker

April 11, 2013 at 5:45 am

Well, this thread is officially dead.

Anonymous

April 11, 2013 at 3:46 pm

The Fox Nation web site has removed a column by conservative commentator Ann Coulter because it had a reference to killing the daughter of Sen. John McCain. Fox said Thursday, April 11, 2013, the column, posted Wednesday night, was deemed offensive. Coulter wrote that MSNBC’s Martin Bashir suggested Republican senators need to have a member of their family killed before they would support stronger gun control legislation. She wrote: Let’s start with Meghan McCain!

Anonymous

April 11, 2013 at 5:13 pm

I’m a long time fan of the Humboldt Herald. So glad I can again post comments on Quick Notes. Thank you!!! (I hope the Herald will be fully functional soon.)

Anonymous

April 12, 2013 at 7:14 am

This Quick Note thread was buried in May of 2012, last year. There is a different Quick Notes thread subsequent to that.

#650, the Humboldt Herald is on life support and not expected to survive.

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